When Winter Storm Fern shut down roads, airports and power across North Mississippi last week, University of Mississippi student Allie Weinhardt found herself stranded in Oxford with no electricity, heat or a safe way to travel home.
Then, a Facebook post changed everything.
Michael Jones, a Houston-based United Airlines captain and retired U.S. Air Force pilot, offered to fly stranded UM students home for no cost after seeing parents share concerns online.
“I saw that all those kids were having problems getting between Oxford and basically any airport because of the roads,” Jones said. “So, I had offered up if they wanted to fly kids.”
Jones served 21 years in the U.S. Air Force before retiring in 2019 and later became a captain with United Airlines. He has owned aircraft throughout his adult life and currently flies a Cessna 310, a six-seat, twin-engine plane. He is also the father of a high school student planning to attend UM next fall, which led him to join the Ole Miss parent Facebook groups where he first saw the posts.
“I’m in a place in my life where I’ve got an airplane,” Jones said. “I’ve got the means available if I can go out there and assist, get some of these kids home. I was willing to help out where I could.”
Jones initially planned to fly students from Oxford to Memphis. However, the Oxford airport, along with nearby airports such as Batesville, Miss., were closed all week, leaving Tupelo Regional Airport as the closest operational option.
“Dealing through the parents who were talking to the kids was kind of a logistical nightmare to try to arrange all that so in the end, I was just like, ‘Alright, be at the airport at 11 a.m., and that’s when we’re gonna leave,” Jones said.
On Jan. 29, Jones flew multiple trips out of Tupelo, transporting nine UM students: four to Houston and five to Memphis. He personally covered all fuel costs, flight time and maintenance expenses, which he estimated could total between $5,000 and $6,000.
Among the passengers was Allie Weinhardt, a sophomore accounting major from Houston. After several days without power and the announcement that classes were canceled for another week, her mother, Angela Weinhardt, began searching for alternatives.
“I didn’t have four-wheel drive, and I didn’t have a way to get to the Memphis airport and she found a comment section that he was in and sent me screenshots,” Allie Weinhardt said.
Allie Weinhardt was apprehensive at first.
“I had never met him before,” the sophomore said. “I was just really, really nervous that someone was going out of the way, like going above and beyond, to be kind.”
For Angela Weinhardt, the decision came down to a leap of faith.
“You feel so helpless as a parent when your child’s nine hours away with no electricity, no water,” Angela Weinhardt said. “I just decided to say a little prayer and trust that he was somebody trying to help people out.”
Even she had her doubts.
“It’s one of those things where in hindsight, like now, everybody’s like, ‘Oh, well, that’s so wonderful. That’s so awesome.’ But if it had gone wrong, it would have been like, ‘How could you trust a stranger?’” Angela Weinhardt said.
The flight to Houston lasted under three hours and included three other UM students from some neighboring areas in Houston. Jones kept parents updated, even providing flight tracking once they were airborne.
“He never did anything but try to make us comfortable,” Allie Weinhardt said. “That made all the difference.”
Jones said the students’ excitement was evident.
“They’d never flown on a small plane before, so there may have been a little anxiety associated with that, but they just seemed super excited to be finally getting home,” Jones said.
Jones, who regularly volunteers with nonprofit aviation charities like Angel Flight and Pilots for Patients, said he never expected acknowledgement for his work.
“One of the Fox (News) people here in Houston contacted me,” Jones said. “I was kind of surprised because I don’t do it for recognition or anything.”
For the families, the impact was immediate and lasting.
“I wish there were words to describe the depth of the gratitude,” Angela Weinhardt said. “I personally got to sleep through the night last night. It just means everything to have her back. It’s just such a relief.”
For Allie Weinhardt, the experience changed how she views community.
“It’s such a great example of paying it forward,” Allie Weinhardt said. “Something so awful can still bring people together.”
Junior mechanical engineering and Chinese double major Emma Tamplin, a resident assistant in Pittman Hall from Katy, Texas, admitted she was nervous to fly with Jones at first.
“I was really nervous — a little stranger danger,” Tamplin said. “But I was just ready to get out.”
After days without power and watching storm damage pile up across campus, the flight felt like her only hope.
“The dorms are just four white walls,” Tamplin said. “I was kind of going insane.”
Jones made a point of calming everyone in the air.
“He kept checking on us in the headsets and made sure we were okay,” Emma Tamplin said.
Emma Tamplin’s mother, Sharon Tamplin, said the offer felt almost unreal.
“We were just amazed that he would make an offer like that,” Sharon Tamplin said. “You almost have to put your faith and trust in things happening for good.”
