[_djo_]

The only ATC the article says he spoke to was the Tower at Charlotte-Douglas International, to get permission to fly over the airport. They only manage the area immediately around the airport, and it's not the ATC that's coordinating the disaster response and managing the aircraft over the disaster area.

[aneutron]

That is my point. Any order regarding flight restrictions will be immediately disseminated by the local ATC, and I do understand that the ATC does not coordinate the rescue effort over the area, my point is he DID get the permission and actively attempted and successfully coordinated and complied withe the DR team who set up a landing zone for him.

My point being this is a clear failure of the IC (the fire chief in this case)

[_djo_]

He spoke to local first responders, not to the people actually coordinating the air response.

There are different ATCs and areas of responsibility. The only one the article says he spoke to was the Tower at an airport in Charlotte, over 100km away. They're only going to have been concerned with what he was doing in the immediate airport vicinity as crossing traffic, not where he was going to and what he'd be doing there.

There obviously wasn't a no-fly zone over Charlotte at the time, so the ATC would not have had to disseminate the info during their communications. Instead, that would be reflected in NOTAMS issued by the FAA.