Trailblazing pilot to be documentary star after flying mercy missions

Perthshire flyer who carried urgent testing kits to remote Scottish islands to appear on BBC Alba

A Perthshire pilot has become the star of a new documentary after he took part in a mercy mission, transporting urgently-needed coronavirus testing kits to remote Scottish islands.

Des Hart, 46, from Coupar Angus, signed up for the task organised by the Civil Air Patrol as a way to give something back to the NHS which treated his daughter Sophia, now 10, when she was diagnosed with an aggressive, rare bone cancer in 2016.

He had less than 20 hours to pick up the kits in Stornoway before dropping them off in Benbecula and Barra at a time when normal services were not able to travel to the Western Isles.

Des’s mission will now feature in a new BBC Alba documentary, Sgeulachdan a’ Ghlasaidh (Life In Lockdown).

He said he was glad to have been able to assist, adding: “It was just one trip to start with.

“It was the trailblazing trip to prove the concept and then there was another trip in the reverse. They proved it worked.

“I landed on Barra, on the beach – it was on my bucket list.

“It was quite nerve-racking landing the aircraft but the ground was solid.”

“I landed in Barra, on the beach – it was on my bucket list. It was a real honour and a privilege to be able to help... Western Isles NHS in the battle against Covid.

DES HART

The request to deliver the testing kits came to him at 5pm on a Tuesday in April, and he was tasked with picking them up in Stornoway at noon the following day before dropping them off in the remote islands.

After several frantic phone calls that evening to get everything organised, it was all arranged and he arrived on time with the tests.

Des, who also races planes, trained as a commercial pilot just before 9/11 then moved into the ship brokering business.

He realised he could use his skills to help the NHS during the pandemic and that this was his opportunity to say thank you on behalf of his family for the treatment his daughter received following her diagnosis at the age of six.

Sophia had chemotherapy and an experimental immunotherapy treatment and has been in remission since.

Des said: “It was quite a stressful time of life, but she’s in remission now and back at school.

“My daughter’s doing fantastic today, she’s full of energy and mischief, you’d never know she was so ill.

“The NHS saved her life and the opportunity to give something back to them was the least I could do.

“It was a real honour and a privilege to be able to use my flying qualifications to be able to help Western Isles NHS in the battle against Covid.”

The two-part Sgeulachdan a’ Ghlasaidh will air on BBC Alba on Monday and Tuesday next week, from 9-9.45pm.

Picture: Electrify. Coupar Angus pilot Des Hart with his aircraft after flying-in Covid testing kits.