The Tennessee Wing of the Civil Air Patrol (CAP) flew missions and deployed ground teams to survey damage caused by the deadly tornado that struck Nashville and surrounding mid-state communities.

The Tennessee Wing generated thousands of aerial images of damage in the wake of the deadly tornado that struck Nashville and surrounding mid-state communities two days earlier.

In all, the wing conducted nine flights - four devoted to aerial photography, four to relocate key personnel and one to observation - and also deployed a pair of ground teams.

Lt. Col. Rob Borsari, the wing's director of operations, said the wing's missions followed requests for aid from various agencies, as well as the U.S. Small Business Administration.

"This is a very difficult mission due to the scale of the damage and the human tragedy," Borsari said. "We have flown a total of 15 hours and collected thousands of images of the damaged areas."

One of the wing's planes, a Cessna 182, was destroyed on the ground when the EF-4 tornado struck John C. Tune Airport in Nashville early Tuesday.

As of Thursday, March 5, 2020, volunteer members of the Civil Air Patrol had flown nine aerial missions, including four for aerial photography, four for relocation of key personnel and one for observation. The wing also sent out two ground sorties.

"This is a very difficult mission due to the scale of the damage and the human tragedy," Borsari said. "We have flown a total of 15 hours and collected thousands of images of the damaged areas." One of Tennessee Wing's aircraft, a Cessna 182, was destroyed on the ground when Tuesday's EF-4 tornado struck Nashville's John Tune Airport.

CAP Lt. Col. Charles Watson, incident commander of Tennessee Wing's response, said one of the aerial photography missions involved a special WaldoAir camera system that provides a multi-spectral view of the ground, resulting in 360-degree, 3-D images of the areas covered.

Watson said Tennessee Wing was the first unit in Civil Air Patrol to test the WaldoAir system in 2018. The system helps with damage assessment and estimates for debris collection by providing a 3-D image that can be reviewed from all angles by specialists.

"This technology vastly increases the ability to review and assess damage using computers versus attempting to make the same assessments on the ground without the advantages of a 3-D model," Watson said.