Orcas Island pilot Pat Muffett has taken dozens of patients to and from appointments on the mainland.

When an islander is diagnosed with cancer, the prospect of weekly treatments is made even more daunting by ferry lines and overloaded boats.

That’s when Mercy Flight pilots come to the rescue.

“We do it because we love to fly and we love to help people,” said Orcas pilot Pat Muffett, who has been flying patients to Bellingham and Skagit County for the past five years in his seven-seat Cessna 207.

The program is administered through the Orcas Aviation Association and nine pilots are currently participating. They make around 60 flights a year for islanders undergoing cancer treatments or who have a injury that is not life threatening. Muffett flew a man to Mt. Vernon for a pacemaker that he later named “mercy.”

Once on the mainland, patients can use a courtesy car at the airport to get to appointments. Muffett often drives his passengers to the hospital and then sits in the waiting room. He has already done 17 flights this year.

“I’ve taken people who aren’t that keen on small planes, but once you do it, you’re hooked … you can get to Bellingham in 10 minutes,” he said.

Muffett moved to Orcas 12 years ago from Eastern Washington. He earned his pilot’s license at 17 and began using his expertise to help others in the early 1980s with search and rescue. With his plane, he looked for drowning victims, lost children and missing aircraft.

Now that he is flying people in his community, Muffett says the hardest part is becoming close to someone who later passes away.

“But it doesn’t mean I am going to stop doing this,” he said. “I will keep doing this for as long as I can.”

While the time commitment can vary, Muffett estimates he spends a total of eight hours a week flying people to and from appointments. He juggles his piloting commitments with his two businesses – Eastsound Mini Storage and Eastsound Excavating.

The Mercy Flight program reimburses pilots for their fuel. Typically, it receives around $2,500 in donations per year, but spends $3,000 on gas. Muffett encourages islanders to send donations to: Orcas Aviation Administration, PO Box 712, Eastsound WA 98245.

For more information about the program, call Audrey Wells at 376-3201.