Santa Monica-based Angel Flight West (AFW) celebrated its 100,000th mission on Monday as actor and new AFW recruit Edward Norton flew young Luis and his mother Maria back to San Diego following his post liver transplant treatment.
Made up of a network of 1,800 plus volunteer pilots, AFW is a nonprofit organization that arranges no-cost, non-emergency air travel service that provides access to medical care, transport veterans, rescue animals and aid in disaster relief. Headquartered at Santa Monica Airport, AFW flies approximately 5,000 missions every year, which roughly equates to over a dozen missions every day. Missions are entirely funded by the pilots themselves and only the fuel is tax deductible.
“This is a really special occasion and we stand on the backs of lots of others that have come before us and we’re passing that torch on here, today,” said Josh Olson, Executive Director at AFW.
“Angel Flight West delivers help and hope for families who need transportation to and from healthcare and for other compelling human considerations. And we do that with a small staff that arranges the flights for our volunteer pilots who donate all the costs of the flights to fly those patients to and from treatment,” Olson said.
“We’re a scrappy group of volunteers that really love aviation and know the gift that it is to connect people together and people in our case, so where they can have more hope and heal,” he added.
Luis is recovering from a liver transplant after being diagnosed with cancer. He’s flown with AFW for more than seven years and he’s only 11 years old.
“We continue to fly and back and forth to post transplant appointments and Maria has been by his side for every one of those flights with every one of our volunteer pilots,” Olson said.
Credit: Scott Snowden
Actor Edward Norton, probably best known for starring in Fight Club, Rounders and Birdman, has in fact been a pilot for nearly 20 years.
“Listening to what everyone here is saying about this organization, it makes me only regret that I didn’t know more about it sooner,” he said.
“Flying is a privilege, owning a plane is an incredible privilege and I think it’s worth observing that as someone who has been really lucky and gotten to travel around the world, that the United States has an extraordinary asset in its civil aviation infrastructure,” Norton said.
“And in many ways we can take it for granted until you go to other places and you realize that this freedom, this permission is system that we’re allowed to engage in, where we go down to a local airport, which there are more of the United States than any country on the planet, and getting the planes fired up and be allowed to fly wherever you want is truly a privilege,” Norton said.
“Even after 20 years, I still can’t believe I’m able to fly. I still can’t believe the feeling of freedom that comes with flying and that experience is extraordinary and I’ve always considered it an extraordinary privilege,” Norton said.
“And I think what’s so cool about what you guys have done is you’ve given the average pilot, the non-commercial pilot, the non coast guard or rescue pilot, the perfect chance to fly with some purpose. And that’s great. The idea of being able to get to do something that you love and that’s a privilege, but transposing into something that really gives back and has contributed to the community at large, is very special indeed.”
The official 100,000th mission was split into two parts, with longtime volunteer pilot Rob Ross flying the first leg of the mission, from San Diego to Santa Monica with Luis and Maria. Following the press conference, Norton, together with his friend and co-pilot Michael Langston, then took to the air for the second part of the mission in Norton’s own plane, a 1976 Cessna U206F, fixed wing single engine plane, returning both Luis and Maria home to San Diego.