Inside an Indiana Civil Air Patrol training mission

MONROE COUNTY, Ind. (WISH) – Pilots in central Indiana wrapped up a weekend-long training mission Sunday.

They are with the Civil Air Patrol (CAP). They go to work when disaster strikes — Hurricane Sandy, Hurricane Katrina, the Gulf oil spill and the recent tornadoes in Kokomo.

They need to be ready in a moment’s notice to get in an airplane and survey the damage.

“We’re just moms and dads who have a special ability that only three percent of the US has, and that’s being a pilot,” said First Lt. Justin Clevenger, the pilot on our mission. “We decided to take our skill and put it to use and saving somebody.”

CAP is an auxiliary of the Air Force and is funded by Congress.

“We’re just making sure that when the call comes in, that we can do what we have to do to make sure that mission, that call is completed successfully,” said Capt. Bill Venderamin.

24-Hour News 8 got exclusive access to a training mission. The task on Sunday morning at Monroe County Airport was to find a downed plane by locating it’s transmitter, or “black box.”

They say they can be ready to fly with just 30 minutes notice, and can stay in the air for seven hours.

“Our platform for search and rescue is 1,000 feet off the ground and 90 knots, so we fly low and slow. So that way we can be in area as long as possible,” Clevenger explained.

The Indiana Civil Air Patrol is called out about four times a year.

Much of their work is chartered by the state Department of Homeland Security, National Weather Service, U.S. Air Force Rescue Coordination Center, and the Indiana State Police Department.

“We would be assisting the first responders that are starting on the case,” said Lt. Col. Malcomb Webb.

The majority of their missions are for missing persons reports or natural disasters.

Since 1948, their missions have been emergency services, cadet programs and aerospace education.

“The first time that you look into somebody’s eyes who you just saved, it changes your whole mantra,” Clevenger said.

Click here for more information on the Indiana CAP. Click here for information on the national program.