Hiring a Plane to Survey Beloved Vacationland

• Published in: Newhouse News Service p. 1
• Main Author: MICHAEL PERLSTEIN And MARTHA CARR
• Format: Newsletter
• Language: English
• Published: Washington Newhouse News Service 17.09.2004

David and Fran Campbell of Kenner, La., were among those slapping their credit cards on the counter Friday at Air Reldan Inc., a charter carrier at New Orleans' Lakefront Airport. With a beach house in hard-hit Gulf Shores, Ala., two condos down the road in Orange Beach, and a 54-foot yacht at the Orange Beach Marina, the Campbells didn't want to wait for roads to clear before they got the news good or bad. As pilot Lyndon Horsford flew along the battered coast, the Campbells' mood was hopeful. The Louisiana marshlands cut their usual jigsaw puzzle configuration and Mississippi's barrier islands seemed more or less intact. Even Dauphin Island, Ala., just to the west of Ivan's eye, seemed to weather the storm well, with few obvious signs of heavy damage among the narrow strip of pier- elevated houses. Further along the beach, the high-rise buildings where the Campbells own condominiums seemed intact. As Horsford circled a few times, the couple tried to pick out friends' houses and other landmarks. Fran clicked away with her digital camera before air sickness set in, forcing her to lean back in her seat with her eyes closed.