As peaceful rallies full of supporters for Black Lives Matter and those mourning the death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police continue in the United States, the need to express solidarity has been felt across the world. That's one of the driving forces behind one pilot from Dartmouth, Nova Scotia in Canada to take to the skies on June 4 to draw a message of resistance and solidarity with his flight path.
The flight of pilot Dimitri Neonakis took nearly two and half hours to draw the image of a raised fist in the skies in honor of George Floyd, flying 330 nautical miles at 150 miles per hour.
HAPPENING NOW In the skies over Halifax, Canada. https://t.co/v3ZPufQyEs pic.twitter.com/qdn459NpUz
— FlightAware (@flightaware) June 4, 2020
"For George," Neonakis wrote in a post on Facebook. "Today I flew this 330 nautical mile flight pattern which took the shape of a movement symbol which I respect and support. While I was up there moving around free, the words of George Floyd “I can’t Breathe” came to mind a few times, a stark contrast... End Racism".
“I had a lot of up drafts which created moderate turbulence yesterday, making things difficult. But I was saying to myself, ‘I need to nail this one,'" he explained to CTV News.
In a follow-up interview with CNN, the pilot said he felt "need to speak out and my way is in the air," noting that "even though no one is going to see it, it makes me feel good... I know it's for them, the people oppressed over the years."
Neonakis has been flying for over 20 years. He's the founder of Dream Wings, a program which provides children with disabilities the chance to act as co-pilots during flights. To date, he's flown with more than 500 children as his co-pilot since 2017.
Neonakis has also flown similar paths to show support for Nova Scotians by drawing a large heart in the sky following the 2020 Nova Scotia mass shooting, as well as paying tribute to Captain Jennifer Casey, a air acrobatics pilot for the Snowbirds who crashed and died on May 17.
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