First Officer, Boeing 747-400 Pilot, Kalitta Air, Ypsilanti, Michigan, and Staff Physician and Assistant Clinical Professor, Department of Medicine, City of Hope Comprehensive Cancer Center, Duarte, California
“I was one of four pilots on the first evacuation flight of Americans out of Wuhan,
China [January 29, 2020]. During the flight, I recall thinking back to my emergency
medicine residency at the Cleveland Clinic – South Pointe Hospital when I took flying
lessons to reduce the stress of grueling residency training. I’ve been fascinated
with airplanes since I was a child. My school bus used to pass by Orange County Airport
in Virginia. I dreamed then—at best—I’d be a weekend warrior pilot, buzzing the neighborhoods
in a small plane. But now I fly the Queen of the Skies: the Boeing 747. Since 2016,
I’ve been an airline pilot, first for United Airlines Express, then Southern Air.
I presently fly for Kalitta Air—all around the world—and I do still practice as a
physician. I am able to combine my two passions: aviation and medicine. … I was in
Hong Kong on reserve flight duty when volunteers were sought to pilot an evacuation
flight into Wuhan during the height of the coronavirus outbreak. United States government
officials and their families, as well as other American citizens, were trapped in
the epicenter of a pandemic—without medical care, without food or water. … The 747
has two decks: the crew on the upper deck, and passengers below. The upper deck was
sealed off. Seats and medical equipment were installed on the lower deck for 201 passengers
who’d been screened and quarantined prior to boarding. None were showing symptoms
of COVID-19. … My flight crew of 10 flew from Incheon, South Korea, into Wuhan. When
we landed, Wuhan Airport was empty except for another evacuation flight next to us
that arrived the same night to fly Japanese citizens back to Japan. Since we were
the first evacuation flight, there was so much caution to protect the flight crew,
airport staff and the passengers from this unknown virus. Boarding was very time-consuming—over
six hours. I grew up in Taiwan, so I was able to coordinate between our flight crew
and the Wuhan ground staff, who spoke little English. … Our outbound flight to Anchorage,
Alaska, took 11.5 hours. For passenger safety, we could only fly slow and low at 27,000
feet, much longer than usual. In Anchorage, new crews took over and continued the
flight to March Air Force Reserve Base in Riverside County, California. … I had to
be symptom-free for 14 days before I could return to my hospital work. I was honored
to be part of the evacuation. Returning the evacuees safely to American soil was a
profoundly moving and uplifting experience for me.”
As told to David McKay Wilson
April 21, 2020
In honor and remembrance of Frank Gabrin, DO, who inspired Dr. Ting and trained him in emergency medicine from 1993 to 1999.
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