The horrific fires on Maui in the past week had claimed 96 lives as of Sunday, and that number’s expected to go higher. Maui’s tourism board says some 46 thousand people have flown off that island, just since Wednesday. Flight crews are stretched so thin by the disaster, a pilot from Colorado cut his own Hawaiian vacation a bit, helping hundreds get home and away from the nation’s deadliest wildfire in more than a century…
(CO Pilot Ends HI Vacation Early wrap 1:14)
The Eckelcamp family’s trip to the islands got shortened by storms, then by the devastating fires. They were coming back to Colorado early. But dad Vince is a United pilot of more than 30 years, and a 777 expert, a pilot instructor. So he checked in at the airport, offering to help, surprising a ticket agent…
230814 V Eckelcamp- surprised ticket agent :17 Q:…people out also…
The next day, United’s crew desk called, and Vince, his wife Kathy and their daughter Kallie headed back to the mainland, with some 300 other grateful passengers…
230814 V Eckelcamp- out of uniform but comfy :07 Q:..kinda nice…
And Kallie knows their plane couldn’t have left the island at all, without him…
230814 K Eckelcamp- so proud of dad :09 Q:…lot to me…
All three of the Eckelcamps say they’re glad to be home, but are grief-stricken for the Hawaiians who’ve lost everything…
230814 V Eckelcamp- my small part :09 Q:…to do it…
TAG– United’s been doing a lot more to help the people of Maui, too. They’ve flown in planes loaded with thousands of blankets, cleaning materials and supplies for the Red Cross… all going to assist fire victims.