Beaver County college student flies supplies to Hurricane Helene victims

Maddie Aiken / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Scrolling through her Facebook feed, Meredith Cote saw the devastation that Hurricane Helene wrought on Appalachian communities.

More than 230 people killed. Another 100 still missing. Countless others displaced and in need of basic necessities like food, water and electricity.

The tragedy hit close to home for Ms. Cote, an air traffic control student at the Community College of Beaver County who was born in Knoxville, Tenn.

So she and her father decided to jump — or rather, fly — into action.

The duo have been flying the Cotes’ small family plane into Elizabethton, Tenn., and Ashe County, North Carolina, to deliver much-needed supplies to victims.

“I don’t know what it’s like to lose everything and not be prepared for a storm that came through,” Ms. Cote said. “I couldn’t even imagine not having the [necessities] that I use in my day-to-day life.”

Thus far, Ms. Cote and her father have delivered 470 pounds of toilet paper, shampoo, baby bottles and more to impacted families. The family’s Cessna Skylane can carry about 1,350 pounds total.

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Landing as close to devastated areas as possible, Ms. Cote and her father drop off the supplies to teams of volunteers, who then take the items to victims. 

Ms. Cote, who lives in Beaver Falls, has already taken supplies down twice alongside flight instructors. She plans to fly down at least two more times. It’s a roughly three-hour flight from Western Pennsylvania to Elizabethton and Ashe County.

The Riverside High School graduate began learning how to fly two years ago. She decided she wanted to become an air traffic controller because it’s a “good career path,” and landed on CCBC’s program for its proximity and national recognition.

James Tompkins, an air traffic control professor at CCBC and Ms. Cote’s adviser, said he wasn’t surprised to hear that Ms. Cote was flying supplies to Helene victims. This reflects her hard-working, intelligent and thoughtful nature, Mr. Tompkins said.

“Meredith is quite the go-getter… this is very her,” Mr. Tompkins said. “CCBC in general, we are a community college. We do what we can to help, especially around this area.”

Those who wish to contribute to Ms. Cote’s efforts can donate supplies at the following locations:

Supplies needed include toiletries, cleaning supplies, yard-size trash bags and baby products. There is an urgent need for baby bottles and diaper rash cream.

The deadline to donate is Oct. 31.