A Lake County man not only saves lives at work as a firefighter, he also volunteers his own time to fly others to live-saving medical appointments.
- Mt. Dora firefighter moonlights as Angel Flight pilot
- Mike Alger flies patients to see doctors who aren't near
- He's completed 25 missions
Mike Alger says it’s his father who inspired his love for flying.
“We were always talking about airplanes and he would take me to fly-ins and things like that,” Alger recalled.
Mike is one of about 600 pilots who volunteer their own time, planes and fuel for Angel Flight Southeast. The non-profit offers free flights for adults and kids who need to see doctors who aren’t close-by.
“I get to fly my plane and I get to help someone in the process. There’s just nothing better than that, to fly with a purpose,” Alger said.
The pilots call these flights “missions.”
Since 2012, Mike has completed 25 missions in this plane for Angel Flight Southeast.
When he’s not in the sky, Mike’s back on the ground fighting flames as a Mt. Dora firefighter. That’s where he met up with his next passenger, Chris Nataline, who was diagnosed with lung cancer six years ago.
“If it wasn’t for Angel Flights, I wouldn’t be able to get my medicine so these people are saving other people’s lives,” Chris said.
For Mike, he knows his mom, who passed away from cancer, is with him on every flight after he met his first passenger named Joan.
“That’s significant because that was my mother’s name,” Agler said.