Angel Flight volunteer flies patients to medical care

Every few months, Jason Tuggle takes a special trip in his blue and white Piper Cherokee Six.

The Leander businessman drives to the Georgetown Municipal Airport, loads a few people into his six-seater plane and flies them across the state for medical care. Sometimes they go to Houston, sometimes Brady or Lubbock. And he does it all for free.

"I get to fly have fun and give back to people who are in need of help," he said. "It's a perfect fit."

Tuggle, 32, is one of 1,100 pilots who volunteer with Angel Flight South Central, a nonprofit that provides free long-distance transportation to people who need medical care in other cities. In 2011, the nonprofit — founded in 1991 by a group of North Texas pilots — arranged more than 4,500 missions in Texas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Louisiana, said Tim Dammon, the group's president.

The pilots donate their plane, gas and time and ask for nothing in return, Dammon said. The nonprofit, which is a 501(c)(3), has five employees and an annual budget of $390,000 that comes from donations.

"This is totally at their own expense," he said. "No pilot with Angel Flight South Central is reimbursed a single penny for their flight expenses. This is truly grassroots philanthropy."

Tuggle, who runs his own printing company, had always wanted to learn how to fly. Five years ago, he started taking lessons. He was immediately hooked, often embarking on weekend trips with his wife, Morgan, and their dog, Runway.

But he also wanted to do some charity work, he said. Angel Flight mixed his hobby with helping others, and he has been volunteering for four years.

Tuggle's first mission was to take a man with prostate cancer and his wife to Houston for medical treatment. It was a quiet flight, Tuggle said. But the family was grateful for the help.

Now Tuggle goes on about six Angel Flight trips a year. He has heard stories since he first started volunteering and learns something from all of his passengers.

"It puts life in perspective," he said. "When you think you're having a bad day and you hear their stories, you know you're not having a bad day at all."

For more information on Angel Flight South Central, go to angelflightsc.org.

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