PHOTOS, PAGE 1

       Editor and prime reporter is Doug Terry, a veteran television and radio reporter in   Washington, DC, (details below)

A SECOND AIRPORT, THE RUNWAY IN THE RESORT TOWN OF JACMEL, IS EXPECTED TO BE AVAILABLE SOON FOR THE USE OF RELIEF AND MEDICAL AGENCIES HELPING HAITI.

We needed the biggest aircraft possible to take as much as possible in to the Port au Prince airport, now it looks like we will need the biggest smaller aircraft. The runway at Jacmel is said to be 3,900 ft. long according to a web posting:

Jacmel Jacmel MTJA JAK Civ.   Unpaved No 3900 ft

One unofficial posting says that a C-130 can land and take off at Jacmel with great difficulty, but it is not necessary to rely on those reports. The pilots know the capacity of their aircraft for landing and takeoff and, when they are unsure due to weather conditions, they have charts to help them.

The re-opening at Jacmel would be great news for the people there, but they will still need some way to get the severely injured to medical care, unless the airport can be used to bring in a field hospital. Absent that, the wounded would need to be taken out be helicopter.

The roads between Jacmel and Port au Prince pass through large mountains and are not the very best in better times. We have seen no reports on road conditions since the quake and, generally, people in Jacmel say they have been cut off from the outside world since the earthquake.

More information as available. The possible opening of the airport was reported by the Miami Herald, a great source of information throughout this crisis.

1.20.10 10:32 PM

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