Flying Turtles Head Back to the Wild

Six endangered Kemp’s Ridley sea turtles, rescued via general aviation flights in the fall, will be released back into the wild this Friday after a lengthy rehabilitation program at the Georgia Sea Turtle Center at the Jekyll Island Airport.

The cold-stunned turtles were among the hundreds stranded on New England beaches when the weather turned cold in November and taken to the New England Aquarium, which quickly became overloaded. The general/business aviation charity Turtles Fly Too arranged for aircraft operators heading south from New England to carry 122 of the creatures in boxes or, for larger ones, padded enclosures, and drop them off at one of several rehabilitation centers.

The 4 p.m. release on Friday kicks off the facility’s annual Turtle Crawl weekend, which includes many events. To recognize the contributions made by general/business aviation, the facility is inviting pilots and their families to attend the release on Friday, as well as a tour of the center on Saturday.