A self-storage owner in Orcas Island, Wash., is not just your average flying enthusiast. Pilot Pat Muffett, owner of Eastsound Mini Storage and Eastsound Excavating, flies people to and from the island to the mainland for medical appointments and emergencies.
Muffet is a pilot for Mercy Flight, an organization administrated through Orcas Aviation Association in which nine pilots make around 60 flights each year to transport patients from Orcas Island to hospitals and medical facilities in Washington.
The short flight rather than a long ferry ride is an attraction for people looking at weekly or monthly treatments. The flight from Orcas Island to Bellingham can be made in just 10 minutes. Pilots are volunteers, but are reimbursed for fuel.
Muffet, who moved to Orcas 12 years ago from mainland, earned his pilots license at 17. Hes been a pilot for the Mercy Flight program for five years.
Sources:
- Island Sounder: A Day in the Life: Mercy Pilot Pat Muffet
