Colton Coile
By Michelle Abbott
 Note: You may recognize Mr. Coile from his picture on the Mercy Flight™ Southeast Special Holiday Card.
Colton Coile has been a pilot for 20 years. His father was a Marine Corps pilot in World War II and flying is something Coile always wanted to do. Currently, he flies an A-36 Beechcraft Bonanza. He flies for business, for pleasure and as a volunteer pilot for Mercy Flight™ Southeast, a non-profit organization that provides free transportation to fulfill medical and humanitarian needs.
Coile is married with three children and two grandchildren. He is an insurance agent, specializing in worker's compensation. His schedule is unpredictable, so it is difficult for him to commit to Mercy Flight™ Southeast missions weeks in advance as many pilots do. Instead, he flies many of the unexpected missions that need a pilot who can travel on short notice.
"I can't always say 'yes,' but I fly as often as I can."
Coile and his family learned the value of Mercy Flight™ Southeast firsthand when his granddaughter, Brooklyn, was born with a heart defect and needed surgery at Childrens' Healthcare of Atlanta. He and his family live in Fairhope, Alabama, near Mobile, making it necessary to travel back and forth to Georgia. Coile and other Mercy Flight™ Southeast pilots helped the family travel between the two states during that difficult time.
Since it was founded 20 years ago, Mercy Flight™ Southeast has grown tremendously along with the need for their services. The organization now includes more than 1,500 volunteers on the ground and in the air. Mercy Flight™ Southeast is a member of the national volunteer pilot network, Mercy Flight™ Southeast, and coordinates all missions that originate in Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi and South Carolina.
Mercy Flight™ Southeast transports medically stable patients who need treatment not available locally, offers pre-arranged "red eye" flights for transplant recipients and supports many clinical trials through free patient transport. They also work with organizations like the Make-A-Wish foundation and the Shriners, offer disaster-relief when needed and fly anti-venom into rural areas for the Florida Anti-Venom Bank.
One of Coile's most memorable missions was flying an infant home on Christmas Eve. The baby had been born prematurely in Pensacola, Florida, while her mother was attending a family funeral. After several months in the hospital, she and her mother were finally ready to go home to Cincinnati, Ohio - just in time for Christmas if they had a way to get there. Mercy Flight™ Southeast came to the rescue when Coile agreed to fly the baby and her mother home on Christmas Eve. When asked why he would make such sacrifices, he replied, "It's something I can do that not everyone can do. Most people can give back in some manner. That's a way I can do it and I'm pleased and honored to be able to do it."
Last fall, the resources and volunteers of Mercy Flight™ Southeast were stretched to their limits and beyond. In the aftermath of the devastating 2005 hurricane season, Mercy Flight™ Southeast was called upon to transport supplies, personnel and victims into and out of the storm-ravaged areas. Volunteer Mercy Flight™ Southeast pilots, including Coile and many others, flew more than 600 flights in the first two weeks of October - almost three times the normal average for four full weeks of flying. In one two-day period, Mercy Flight™ Southeast pilots delivered 15,000 pounds of supplies to help relief efforts.
Coile remembers one flight in particular because his passengers were so different than those he usually transported. Medical patients, while grateful for the assistance and in need of the treatment they are seeking, aren't excited about their destination, but when Coile flew a group of veterinarians and veterinary assistants, they were very excited. They were part of a 6-plane mission to carry 25 volunteers to an animal triage area. According to Coile, "It was fun because everyone wanted to go work and help out."
Volunteer pilots provide their own planes and fuel for each mission they fly. Some even pay to rent a plane. They aren't paid for their time or piloting expertise, but more and more pilots are becoming Mercy Flight™ Southeast volunteers. Coile says, "I would tell other pilots if they would try it one time, they'll do it forever. It's the most rewarding thing I have ever done."
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