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Pilot lauded for medical care flights

Richmond pilot Henry Ilg has been honoured as the 2013 Distinguished Volunteer Pilot as part of the Spirit of Hope Volunteer Awards, in Hope Air’s annual awards ceremony held last week in Toronto.
Pilot
Henry Ilg

Richmond pilot Henry Ilg has been honoured as the 2013 Distinguished Volunteer Pilot as part of the Spirit of Hope Volunteer Awards, in Hope Air’s annual awards ceremony held last week in Toronto.

Ilg has been volunteering for Hope Air, an organization that provides free flights for medical services to those who cannot afford the trip otherwise, for the last ten years, completing 26 missions, 13 in 2013 alone.

Ilg says the award has come as a surprise and puts the praise on the work of others,

“I’m only one of a large team,” he says humbly.

“As a pilot I understand how far many Canadians must travel to access healthcare and how a free flight can literally change their lives,” says Ilg.

“Henry Ilg consistently goes the extra mile, literally and figuratively, to support Hope Air Clients in British Columbia,” says Hope Air Executive Director Doug Keller-Hobson.

Ilg, who retired in 2012 from Air Canada, also volunteers in aircraft search and rescue missions, as well as with COPA for Kids, and organization that helps youth get motivated and educated in the field of aviation, with free learning seminars and flights.

Hope Air is the unique Canadian national charity, which arranges free flights for low-income Canadians who need non-emergency healthcare not available in their local communities. In 2013, Hope Air and its commercial airline partners and donors provided 7,090 free flights to Canadians from coast-to-coast. For more information, visit hopeair.com.