By Lisa Lotane
Thursday, January 21st started out as an ordinary day filled with meetings, phone depositions, and case preparations for attorney and Cirrus Aircraft owner, Troy Lotane. After an afternoon appointment cancelled, he decided to take a break and head down to his hangar at Melbourne International Airport. He needed to check an altimeter setting for the service center at Tampa Executive where he regularly services his Cirrus GTS Turbo aircraft. It is imperative that he keeps his high performance plane in tip top shape as he uses it to travel the state of Florida for his law firm.
On this particular day, as he approached his hangar he noticed quite a bit of activity a few hangars down from his. Seeing his church executive pastor, Jay Austin, and others loading a twin engine plane with supplies for Haiti, he made a few inquiries. Immediately the pilot, Pat Roth, began explaining to Troy that his mission was to get critical supplies and personnel into Haiti and help adopted orphans from Ruuska Village get transportation to the United States. Two organizations, Air Mobile Ministries and Reach Out to Haiti, have worked together tirelessly to coordinate this effort. They have found smaller planes to work extremely well and very efficiently, and they have counted on selfless local pilots to help them in their efforts. Pat had convinced Troy that because he had his IFR certification and his own plane, he was an ideal candidate to help with this mission.
Little did Troy know that on January 27th he would be using his pilot skills, Cirrus airplane, and trust in God to go to Haiti. Having never flown this far over water before he was a bit anxious. As he talked to his pilot friends about his concern of only having a single engine, the common response was, “We may have a twin, but you have a Cirrus!”
ABOVE: Cirrus owner, Troy Lotane with Barbara Walker
At 5:30 am he met Barbara Walker, who he knew was a special person from the moment he heard about her. She has worked at Ruuska Village tirelessly for over 20 years to find families and secure visas for Haitian orphans with very little hope of surviving otherwise. As desperation and panic set in after the horrifying earthquake on January 12th many visas were granted and families across the United States were notified that the children they have longed to be with for years now finally had a chance to come. Barbara and 300 pounds of supplies were loaded into Troy’s plane. At 6:00 am they were off to the Turks and Caicos - where he would refuel before continuing on to Haiti. Fuel in the Caribbean is very scarce due to the disaster relief efforts, and few islands are able to keep a supply very long. After refueling they were off to Haiti to make their 1:15 time slot.
ABOVE: The devastation in Haiti
As Troy approached the airport at Port-Au-Prince he was overwhelmed by what appeared to look like a war zone. It reminded him of a scene from the M.A.S.H. television show he grew up watching. There were tents, stacks of supplies, medical and relief workers, armed guards, razor wire, and an abundance of organized chaos. He had one hour on the ground before he was required to leave. Joe Hurston, from Air Mobile ministries, and his Haitian assistant met them at the plane with two children, Natasha, age 14, and Amanda, age 2. They seemed relatively calm as they boarded the plane and prepared for takeoff. Natasha found great comfort in singing spiritual songs before succumbing to sleep. Refueling in the Turks and Caicos was again the plan, but took much longer than anticipated as the fuel truck broke and needed repair work.
ABOVE: (Left to Right) Joe Hurston's assistant (with suitcase), Troy Lotane - Cirrus owner, Amanda (age 3) - adopted by a young couple in Texas, Natasha (age 14) - adopted by a family in Melbourne, Barbara Walker, and Joe Hurston (http://www.airmobile.org/).
By the time Troy piloted into Miami International Airport it was 10:30 pm. He couldn’t help but smile as the children had their faces pressed up against the window amazed at the light spectacle below. They had left a world of darkness and terror, and were being charioted into a brighter world full of hope and promise. What a privilege for a willing pilot like Troy, and his extraordinary airplane, the Cirrus GTS TURBO, to get to escort these children to their new life.
Cirrus Note: Troy made a second trip to Haiti:
ABOVE: Troy Lotane and Barbara Walker with three Haitian children adopted by a family in Merritt Island.
Cirrus notes: Cirrus Aircraft proudly applauds the generosity of the Lotane Family in their efforts to help victims in Haiti. The Lotane family would like all Cirrus owners to consider assisting in the Haiti relief effort.