Coast Guard pilot Lt.j.g. Jason Evans, from Coast Guard Air Station Elizabeth City, N.C., performs pre-flight checks aboard a HH-60 Jayhawk rescue helicopter before taking off from Coast Guard Air Station New Orleans to conduct overflight damage assessments and search and rescue operations, Sept. 13, 2008 following the landfall of Hurricane Ike. The Coast Guard deployed additional search and rescue aircraft from numerous air stations from throughout the Coast Guard to aid in search and rescue response for the citizens of Texas and Louisiana.