Eleanor and her family travel from Helena, Montana, to Seattle for her treatment at Seattle Children's Hospital. Command pilot Trevor Moody provided one of the flight legs for this important mission across state lines. Based in the Washington wing, Moody has piloted more than 80 flights since becoming an Angel Flight volunteer pilot in 2014. [Courtesy: Angel Flight West]
Key Takeaways:
Angel Flight, a volunteer pilot organization providing free humanitarian flights primarily for medical travel, is severely impacted by the ongoing pilot shortage, forcing them to turn down hundreds of mission requests, particularly in Montana and Idaho.
The organization offers crucial air transportation for individuals from rural areas needing specialty medical care, and also assists with other humanitarian causes such as disaster relief and transport for veterans or children to specialty camps.
To volunteer, pilots must meet specific requirements, including 250 total flight hours, 75 hours cross-country PIC, current certifications, and sufficient aircraft insurance coverage, with mission-related costs like fuel and aircraft rental being tax-deductible.
The pilot shortage is not just at the airline level—it is also being keenly felt within the volunteer pilot community, notably by the Angel Flight organization.
Angel Flight is a network of volunteer pilots who provide free flights for humanitarian reasons, most often for people who need assistance when they travel for medical care.
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Meg Godlewski has been an aviation journalist for more than 24 years and a CFI for more than 20 years. If she is not flying or teaching aviation, she is writing about it. Meg is a founding member of the Pilot Proficiency Center at EAA AirVenture and excels at the application of simulation technology to flatten the learning curve. Follow Meg on Twitter @2Lewski.
