Air Care Alliance mourns Jim Hesseman

ACA represents a network of volunteer pilot groups across the United States, and Hesseman flew volunteer missions for several organizations including Angel Flight West, PALS SkyHope, Pilots N Paws, Flights for Life, and White Feather Flights for more than two decades.

“Jim believed deeply in the power of aviation to change lives. Whether flying medical patients, transporting precious cargo, or giving grieving families a moment of peace in the sky, he approached every mission with humility, compassion, and care,” the ACA said in a statement. “His leadership helped bring together pilots and nonprofits from across the country, uniting them under a shared purpose: to serve others through the gift of flight.”

The National Aeronautic Association gave Hesseman its 2023 award for outstanding achievement in advancement of public benefit flying and called him “a volunteer pilot with generosity and compassion that exceeds all expectations.”

According to the ACA, in accepting the award, Hesseman said, “Do as much as you can, for as long as you can, for as many as you can.” The group called those words “a testament to the way Jim lived.”

The organization was formed in 1990 after a meeting of charitable flying groups that was held at AOPA headquarters. Among its goals was to promote the missions of all the participating groups and to encourage them to work together and support each other. Today, the organization continues to encourage volunteerism among pilots, promotes safety and other best practices, and seeks to maintain charitable aviation as a resource for people in need.