Critical medical cargo shipped from Highland County Airport

By Greg Grant
For The Highland County Press

The Plane, The Plane.

No, it’s not Tattoo announcing to Mr. Roarke on "Fantasy Island" that the plane is coming.

However, it is the almost daily comments of many Hillsboro residents around 8:45 p.m. as the twin-engine plane flies over the city.

The plane has created quite a number of comments, rumors, questions, and anticipation for its routine appearance.

The plane, one of two, twin-engine Aero Commander 500 Bs based in Hillsboro and piloted by Steven J. Sandlin, is owned by Central Air Southwest, a cargo and passenger charter service company that operates from 11 bases around the country, which until this Friday evening included the Highland County Airport.

Sandlin arrives at the airport each evening and completes his pre-flight inspection and prepares the plane for its daily flight. This particular evening, he again battles a very persistent bird that has built a nest in the engine compartment. Every evening, he removes the nest, and every day, the bird rebuilds it.

After the pre-flight inspections are completed, the Aero Commander heads down the taxiway. A click of the radio mic signals the runway lights to come on, providing visibility and safety for the departure.

In just a short time, the plane has reached the entrance to the runway, the engines rev up and the plane begins its takeoff on Runway 5-23 turning to the west and climbing to an altitude of 2,500 feet by the time it passes through Hillsboro.

Very soon the comments by people on Facebook will begin. “Plane” “8:43” or similar banter is quickly posted, and so are the questions of what is this plane doing, or why is it flying over Hillsboro every evening.

Recently, inquiring minds have begun to find out the real story and which is also discussed online.

Sandlin explained that he is hauling medical supplies as well as blood and biopsy samples for LabCorp, a national lab test and service company. Hospitals will ship these time-sensitive lab samples to the LabCorp facility in Columbus, Ohio for processing.

Sandlin’s current route takes him from Hillsboro to Bloomington, Illinois, and then to Chicago, picking up these samples and delivering them to their final destination, Columbus, to LabCorp’s regional testing facility. He then returns to Hillsboro concluding his 5- to 6-hour route. He has flown other routes which include Charleston, West Va., with flight times of seven hours.

After Friday night’s flight, Hillsboro residents will notice the skies being a little quieter in the evenings. Route changes necessitating utilization of spare planes for other pilots will result in Sandlin’s two planes to be relocated to an airport in Hamilton.

Sandlin was quick to note that the move has nothing to do with the Highland County Airport, but was strictly logistics for the company. He said that the service provided by the Airport Authority and Hangar 6, which has maintained his planes, have been excellent.

He said there has never been a night when his plane has not been able to complete its flight. Even during the heavy snows and ice this winter, Bob Prosek, president of the Highland County Airport Authority, and several others kept the runway just as clear as airports with 24/7 ground crews.

Sandlin said this was remarkable as his cargo is “irreplaceable,” meaning much of it is patient samples which cannot be duplicated and they must get to the lab in a timely manner. He said he is heartbroken to be leaving Highland County Airport and hopes that sometime if other route changes are made, he can return.

In addition to being convenient to his home, Sandlin stated that having the planes based there has been of help to the local airport as he purchases approximately 70 gallons of fuel a night, pays hangar fees for two planes and purchases services from Hangar 6.

Sandlin has been flying since he was 20. He learned to fly at the Clermont County Airport at Sportys. He has a bachelor’s degree in aviation and 4,500 commercial flight hours logged.