Angel Flight West is proud to announce the expansion of our volunteer pilot network in the Alaska Wing. For many years, our work in Alaska has centered on missions supported through the generosity of our partners at Alaska Airlines. This marks an important next step as we begin to expand our presence and deepen our commitment to serving communities across the state. We will be starting with missions to the Anchorage area from the Kenai Peninsula and will expand as our volunteer pilot base allows.
We are also pleased to introduce Tom Kleeman as the inaugural Alaska Wing Leader. Tom previously flew missions for Angel Flight NE and brings both experience and passion to this new leadership role. Of his professional background and his connection to Alaska, Tom shared the following:
“I am a retired Orthopedic spine surgeon trained at Yale School of Medicine, where I began a career that ultimately spanned more than four decades. During that time, I practiced in Manchester, New Hampshire, and founded the New Hampshire NeuroSpine Institute, which grew into a regional center for advanced spine care. Alongside my medical work, I flew missions for Angel Flight Northeast, an experience that showed me firsthand how profoundly aviation can change access to care for people in need.
My wife, Anne, and I moved to Alaska in 2017, drawn by both the landscape and the aviation culture. She is a pilot as well, and together we have spent the past several years exploring the Alaska backcountry in our Cessna 172XP. Living here has made it unmistakably clear how unique the challenges of medical access are in a state with so few roads and such vast distances — where small airplanes often serve the role that cars do elsewhere.
It is with that understanding, and with deep enthusiasm, that I am helping activate the Alaska volunteer pilot division of Angel Flight West. I am excited to bring this mission to a place where it is not only valuable but essential, and to work with fellow pilots, medical partners, and communities to ensure that Alaskans facing medical hardship have a reliable pathway to the care they need.“
We are happy to welcome Tom as we take this exciting step forward in expanding access to care and assistance in Alaska with the support of the dedicated volunteer pilots of the Angel Flight West Alaska Wing.
