Pilot Flew A 16-Year-Old Cancer Patient Home For Christmas
On December 22nd, 1981
From its first flight involving one patient and one airplane,
the Corporate Angel Network has grown to an extensive array of
companies that has helped tens of thousands of people with cancer
reach get access to treatment. The non-profit group, which offers
free flights aboard business aircraft to patients traveling across
the country for medical care, celebrates its 30th anniversary this
month.
CAN Executive Director Peter Fleiss said it all began with one
patient, and one plane. “Leonard Greene, founder of the Safe
Flight Instrument Corporation, flew the first Corporate Angel
Network flight on December 22, 1981 in his company's King Air
200,” Fleiss said. “Greene flew a 16 year-old boy home
to Detroit for Christmas, who was getting cancer treatments at
Memorial Sloan-Kettering in New York. Today, over 550 companies
have donated seats on their aircraft, and we fly roughly 250 to 300
patients a month.”
Fleiss added that Corporate Angel Network is on track to operate
its 40,000th flight in 2012. “Our real focus is on helping
cancer patients receive the best possible treatment,” he
said. “Many of them are immune deficient, and can't fly on
airlines. Companies send their schedules to us, and our computer
matches those patient needs within the parameters we've given for
potential matches.”
None of that would be possible were it not for the companies
offering seats on aircraft operating routine business flights. NBAA
helps Corporate Angel Network raise funds and spread the word about
the group's mission. Perhaps one of the most prominent examples of
that support is the NBAA/CAN Charity Benefit, held each year as
part of NBAA's Annual Meeting & Convention. Last year’s
event raised over $220,000 for the group.
“NBAA has been a strong and long-time supporter in a
number of ways,” Fleiss said. “Perhaps most
importantly, NBAA's support and promotion gives us credibility and
exposure to the people who don't really know about us. That makes
it easier for us to pitch our services to corporations and flight
departments.
“There's a real hidden benefit for companies that fly
these patients,” he added. “When a CEO flies with a
cancer patient and their family for the first time, they may not
really think about it in the beginning. When they talk to the
patient during the flight, though, it becomes extremely rewarding.
They don't get a tax benefit, or any benefit other than feeling
good that they're helping people.”
Fleiss noted the service provided by Corporate Angel Network is
rewarding for him, as well. “I'm amazed with how many letters
and phone calls I've received, from people who found a clinical
trial far away. It's very powerful to hear someone say, ‘you
flew us to that trial, and today we're cancer free.’ Business
aviation has really stepped up here.”