ONE month after the Haiti earthquake that killed more than 230,000 people, a pilot from RAF Lyneham opens his heart about the devastation that he discovered while dispatching aid there.

Flight Lieutenant Calvin Bailey, 32, flew medical supplies, equipment and 20 medical personnel into Haiti just hours after the American government announced that it would provide support.

He said the toughest job of all was trying to comfort a young boy whose mother had died in the disaster and he had to fly him to be reunited with his father.

Flt Lt Bailey said: “It took us about an hour from arriving in work to being sat in the aircraft with 18,000lbs of medical supplies and equipment, and the 20 personnel from the 1st Special Operations Wing’s specialist medical teams.

“The airspace was surprisingly quiet – the chaos during the day having abated but most of the arrivals hadn’t informed the Combat Control Team of their arrival and in the dark of the night, among the mountains the aircraft jostled and duelled for airspace while the controllers tried to ascertain where exactly each asset was using only their observations and the charts they had with them.

“As we taxied in, the congestion was hard to believe.

“Each aircraft was parked with minimal wing-tip clearance and in front of the parking line, there was a throng of journalists, rescue teams and potential evacuees.

“Missions of this kind can be emotional – while my crew worked to adjust the aircraft configuration, I spoke with the surgeons about the passengers they hoped for us to move.

“While there, my attention was drawn to one young boy who was almost inconsolable. The medics briefed me that he had lost one of his parents in the earthquake and asked if we could take him to Fort Lauderdale where arrangements would be made for him to be reunited with his father.

“I tried to console him with small talk about flying and aircraft. I gave him a chocolate bar and he seemed slightly less agitated, but the episode affected me emotionally and I found myself rather teary-eyed.”

It took Flt Lt Bailey’s team approximately 30 minutes to convert the aircraft from a cargo plane to a medical support platform with stretcher stations.

He said leaving the devastated area was just as tough.

He said: “As we took off I looked down into to the deep black void where there should have been a well lit town, and wondered how my seemingly inconsequential effort would actually improve the situation and lives of the people that must have been sheltering in the darkness. I couldn’t tell, but at the end of our long 18-hour day, I knew that I would go back 12 hours later and do it all again.

“Over the Air Traffic Control airwaves, controllers would tell us; ‘Thank you for helping the people of Haiti, you are doing a great job out there, we are very proud of you.’”