With this fall being the worst in memory for New England sea turtle strandings, business and general aviation aircraft operators helped save hundreds.
Workers from the New England Aquarium load sea turtles aboard a PC-12 near Boston. With its large cargo door, the speedy turboprop single makes an ideal turtle transport. One such flight this year carried 60 endangered Kemp's Ridley and Green sea turtles from Boston-area Hanscom Field to Panama City in Florida. While small turtles can be transported in cardboard boxes, Loggerheads, which can weigh more than 300 pounds, require specialized enclosures. They are moved once they are strong enough to travel, with volunteer flights continuing through the spring. The animals require several months of recovery until they are well enough to be released back into the ocean.
