Embry-Riddle fleet ravaged by tornadoes

[evangilder]

Sad day for aviation.

About 60 airplanes were damaged or destroyed when tornadoes tore through the Daytona Beach, Fla., campus of Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University on Christmas Day. Two tornadoes with winds of about 120 mph tore a 100-foot-wide swath through the center of campus as a line of violent thunderstorms passed across the region. "The maintenance hangar was destroyed and there was damage to a high percentage of the fleet of planes," said a statement posted Christmas night on ERAU's Web site. "There is substantial damage to several buildings on campus, including the administration building, Spruance Hall, and the Student Center. The recovery is already under way and every effort is being made to have everything operational when classes resume in January -- including using rental planes for the flight line." The school operates about 85 aircraft. The campus was closed for the holiday, and nobody was hurt. "Thank God," ERAU President John Johnson told the Daytona Beach News-Journal. "It's a real blessing it happened when it did. No one was injured." A few students were staying in dormitories, but they were not hit.

 

[FLYBOYJ]

WOW!!!

 

[DerAdlerIstGelandet]

Wow holy **** that sucks!

 

[mkloby]

That is awful. It will probably take some time for them to begin operations again...

 

[the lancaster kicks ass]

yes it will but i'm not sure i'd call it a sad day for aviation, no one was injured there was barely anyone there, the planes were not historic and can be replaced, albeit at a price, the students will still recieve an education, they will just be even more wary of flying in bad weather

 

[evangilder]

It's a sad day because Embry-Riddle is one of the top aeronautical schools in the US.

Video footage of the destruction:
WESH.com - Video

 

[timshatz]

Bummer, but nobody was hurt. The birds can be replaced with new ones. Probably an opportunity for Cessna or somebody to run down there and make a pitch.

 

[evangilder]

Or better yet, run a PR campaign and offer to donate a few.

 

[timshatz]

I imagine with the numbers Emory has in it's fleet and the probably number that were knocked out, ERAU is in the driver's seat. They won't need people to donate to them (not that they'll turn them down). Figure they replace 25 airplanes. That would be a substantial number of aircraft to produce for any aircraft manufacturer. Cessna, Piper, Socata, even some of the new producers from Eastern Europe will probably show up. And given that Emory can put them together themselves (and may even want to), they're gonna get deals thrown at them left and right.

ERAU will probably hit up their Alumni to get some donations too. And if all the hulls were insured...

 

[evangilder]

True enough, but imagine Cessna or Piper coming in with 1 or 2 donated aircraft. Good PR and a great way to get in good with the buyers, especially since they need a fair amount of them. But putting them back together would be a good exercise for the students too. They should now have an abundance of spare parts...

 

[timshatz]

They should now have an abundance of spare parts...

Yeah, scattered all over Southern Floriday