A South Carolina pilot who flew to a flood-ravaged region of North Carolina to help stranded Hurricane Helene victims said he was threatened with arrest if he didn’t stop performing rescue missions.
Jordan Seidhom decided to use his helicopter and piloting skills after the storm wreaked havoc in the region, flooding roadways and rendering escape nearly impossible for numerous residents. Through a Facebook post, Seidhom read about a family trapped on a mountain without water in Banner Elk and decided to take action.
“I thought, I have a helicopter, maybe I can help,” Seidhom told Queen City News.
As the former head of the Chesterfield County Sheriff’s Office narcotics unit, Seidhom used the skills he learned from his previous training to locate the family.
After receiving clearance to fly from the Charlotte-Douglas International Airport, Seidhom and his son, Landon, a high school junior, loaded up the helicopter with food and water and set off for Banner Elk.
On Saturday, after the father-and-son duo, who are also members of the Sandhills Volunteer Fire Department in Pageland, succeeded in delivering supplies to the family in need, they decided to fly to Black Mountain in search of others in need of help. Soon after, they found two women stranded on a mountain without food or water. Seidhom was able to transport the women to a community center that had generator power and other resources.
