First U.S. government aid flight heads for Myanmar

YANGON, Myanmar (CNN) - The United States government launched its first airlift of relief supplies to cyclone-ravaged Myanmar when a military airplane took off from Thailand Monday morning. The Lockheed C-130 Hercules - loaded with 28,000 pounds (12,700 kilograms) of supplies, including water, mosquito netting and blankets - is scheduled to land in Myanmar about 2 p.m. (3:30 a.m. ET).

Officials hope the mission will help forge a relationship that will allow the United States to send in disaster experts.

"As of right now, visas for them have not been approved," White House spokesman Gordon Johndroe told reporters in Crawford, Texas, over the weekend. "So we'll keep on working on this. We hope this is the beginning of a long line of assistance from the United States to the people of Burma."

The United States hopes to send in two more planes on Tuesday.