Flying for a cause: Florida pilots aid wildfire relief effort in LA

By Meghan Moriarty

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MELBOURNE, Florida (WESH) — Florida Institute of Technology pilots Blaise Pasquier and Diego Teixeira returned from California after a weekend-long trip to help those impacted by devastating wildfires.

“When we went to LA, we kind of had the same expectations as everybody,” Teixeira said. “We thought it was going to be a really sad scene, but it was the complete opposite. Seeing all the support people were getting and seeing everybody come together was incredible. People who you would never expect to work together were working together.”

WESH 2 first introduced viewers to the students in January at their flight school in Melbourne. The two wanted to fly out supplies and assist in any way they could in California.

“We got to meet some of the families who lost everything, and we were able to help them out,” Pasquier said. “That was a really cool experience.”

Sixteen hours of flying and more than 800 pounds of clothing and toys were delivered to families. They also sponsored two $1,000 shopping trips for families. They worked with the American Red Cross, Connecting a Caring Community and L.A. Flight Academy to make it happen.

“It was awesome to see that it was used right away. No time was wasted, and it was actually really needed,” Pasquier said.

The pilots said the best part was seeing so many people come together to help — not just in California — but also here in Central Florida, where people donated to support their flight to California.

“Seeing support all around completely changed my perspective on this kind of stuff,” Teixeira said. “There’s always going to be people helping.”