Angel Flight

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This article is about the nonprofit transportation-facilitating organization. For the student professional service organization previously known as "Angel Flight", see Silver Wings.

Angel Flight is the name used by a number of groups whose members provide free transportation for needy patients and perform other missions of community service. Such a non-profit organization may be located in the United States, Europe, Australia, or Canada and they, like other Public Benefit Flying (PBF) organizations, help arrange free, non-emergency transportation for patients who require medical treatment but who cannot afford to pay for a commercial flight. Transportation is provided by volunteer pilots, often using their own private general aviation aircraft. In most of Canada, the Volunteer Pilot Program of Hope Air provides a similar service, along with Angel Flight of Vancouver. The only complete list of all the Angel Flight and other Public Benefit Flying Organizations is maintained by the Air Charity Network. aircharitynetwork.org

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[edit] How Angel Flight Works

The Angel Flight organizations themselves do not provide the transportation. Instead, each acts as a "matchmaker," connecting people who have a compelling need for transportation but can not afford it with individual pilots who are willing to provide free flights as a charity.

Angel Flight volunteers typically serve patients who require specialized medical treatment at a facility far from their homes -- for example, a clinic that has expertise in the treatment of a particular form of a disease. In some cases, other compelling human needs are served, such as transportation to visit a hospitalized family member, or transportation helping in time of emergencies or disasters. Many of the public benefit flying groups helped in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, for example.

The Angel Flight process usually begins when a referring health professional, usually a social worker, contacts an Angel Flight organization. The referrer describes the points between which transportation is needed, the total number of people and weight, and the condition of the patient.

Not every patient is eligible for transportation. For example, patients usually must be medically stable and capable of walking on their own and sitting upright unassisted. The flight must also not be for treatment of a medical emergency, because weather or other factors may cause last-minute cancellation of the flight. Often a doctor's signoff is required. Therefore, these flights are not considered to be air ambulance services.

If the flight request is deemed appropriate then information concerning the date, source, destination, and total passenger count is added to an "available mission list" on that Angel Flight web site or other notification list. Pilot volunteers periodically check the mission list and can assign themselves to a mission that is appropriate to their aircraft and schedule.

[edit] Angel Flight Pilots

Angel Flight missions are made possible by pilots who volunteer their time, their skills, and the funds required for aircraft operating expenses. Many pilots provide Angel Flights in their own personal aircraft, although some do so using rented aircraft. Pilots must usually meet certain minimum flight experience requirements before they are allowed to command an Angel Flight mission. They also receive training on the special procedures required for Angel Flight.

Pilots have a variety of reasons for volunteering for Angel Flight missions. Most do so simply because they enjoy flying, and because providing charity transportation is more constructive than getting the proverbial $100 hamburger or "drilling holes in the sky" (flying just for the sake of flying). The aircraft operating expenses are also generally tax-deductible (not in Australia however).

[edit] History of Angel Flight

Angel Flight's first organization under that name was founded in 1983 in Atlanta, Georgia. Angel Flight of Georgia continues to operate in Georgia, Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi, North Carolina and South Carolina. Like most groups, Angel Flight of Georgia connects with other Public Benefit Flying Organizations to provide patients with transportation in other areas.

About the same time, another Angel Flight organization was formed in Santa Monica, California. Originally called Angel Flight of California, it is now known as Angel Flight West and serves most of the western United States.

The Air Care Alliance, a national umbrella organization for similar volunteer pilot groups throughout the nation, was organized in the early 1990s. Later, in 2000, several of the organizations formed a joint marketing and operational effort called Angel Flight America, with offices in Virginia (now located in Dallas). Angel Flight of Georgia is not a member of Angel Flight America.

In the summer of 2007, Angel Flight America was renamed the Air Charity Network, and some of its regional organizations also were renamed, such as Angel Flight Southeast, which became Mercy Flight Southeast operating in the states of Georgia, Alabama, South Carolina and Mississippi. In Florida, the operating organization remains Angel Flight Southeast. The parent organization, also now known as Mercy Flight Southeast, continued its affiliation with the former Angel Flight America/now Air Charity Network.

Air Charity Network flights provide both nationwide coverage for distressed individuals with special medical and humanitarian needs, as well as serve as part of the federal Homeland Security Air Transportation System (H-SEATS) when man-made and natural disasters occur, such as the post-Hurricane Katrina recovery period.

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