Middletown skydive business making back-and-forth trips to help Helene victims

MIDDLETOWN, Ohio (WXIX) – Start Skydiving in Middletown has been on back-and-forth runs delivering supplies to Hurricane Helene victims this week as the Southeast continues to recover from historic storms and flooding.

The company has made eight trips to the Tennessee-North Carolina border, around 30 to 40 miles from Asheville to help those recovering from the hurricane.

Around 200 people are dead following flooding and landslides that have washed away bridges and roads, with many areas reachable only by plane.

They’ve lost their homes,” co-owner Alex Hart said. “They’ve lost friends that perished in some of these landslides. I can’t even begin to imagine what they’re going through.”

Hart was in Middletown on Thursday, returning from a recent flight delivering supplies.

“There were hundreds of people there from the community,” Hart said. “They were incredibly thankful for whatever we brought down.”

While talking to FOX19 NOW, Hart’s team was loading his plane with more supplies, hoping to get off another flight in the air before sunset.

Co-owner John Hart said the company has been on relief missions before.

“Seven years ago, almost to the day, we flew down to Haiti after Hurricane Irma hit,” Hart said. “We flew massive medical supplies down there.”

The company said they’ve had a steady supply of supplies due to churches, companies and individuals making donations.

They said anyone looking to donate supplies can drop them off at Start Skydiving in Middletown. They plan to continue making trips as long as they’re needed.

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