Some people are going above and beyond showing their love after the tragic Nova Scotia shooting. One pilot went way above for his personal gesture. He gave the community in Portapique an aerial hug by flying in the shape of a heart. Dimitri Neonakis told CTV News that he wanted to "hug the community," and that the only way he could do it was by flying. Neonakis got in his single-engine plane and began flying north from Halifax Stanfield International Airport toward the grieving community. "The sun had set. My partner Laura and I were in the cockpit and we were very quiet," Neonakis told CTV News, "We had the same thought; there was so much pain below us." When he landed, he received a message from the air traffic controller thanking him for his gesture. Neonakis said he wasn't even aware that anyone would know what he was doing. "Right there I knew I wasn't alone in that cockpit," Neonakis told CTV News, "there was thousands of people with me, paying our respects." His aerial, heart-shaped hug was shared on Twitter by Halifax Stanfield. The pilot's daughter, Alexandria, commented on her father's actions, writing, "i miss my family so much in times like this, so to see my dad's little flight path he took to try to make some people smile on a wretched day really feels nice." Yesterday, our province suffered an unbelievable loss. Our hearts are with all the families who lost loved ones, and the brave @NSRCMP officers and first responders involved in this tragic event. We are thinking of you. We are #NovaScotiaStrong. ❤️ pic.twitter.com/7X2Vto0wDn— Halifax Stanfield (@HfxStanfield) April 20, 2020 shit i miss my family so much in times like this, so to see my dad's little flight path he took to try to make some people smile on a wretched day really feels nice.— Alexandria Neonakis (@Beavs) April 20, 2020 She also noted that her father really did make an incredibly tricky turn in order to perfectly outline the shape of a heart. And I did ask because some of you were wondering He really did a sharp turn for that middle of the heart and scared his poor girlfriend who was in the copilot seat loool. He said “gamma turn like the Greek letter” always a chance to tell me a Greek thing 🙄🥰— Alexandria Neonakis (@Beavs) April 20, 2020 "He said 'gamma turn like the Greek letter,'" Alexandria wrote in a separate tweet, "always a chance to tell me a Greek thing." I am happy to see that this little flight path brought some comfort and a ray of sunshine to so many people, in this...Posted by Dimitri Neonakis on Tuesday, April 21, 2020 On Facebook, Neonakis expressed his happiness at seeing how his big gesture had brought people together after such a tragic event. "We will get through this TOGETHER," he wrote, "Stay strong everyone ....there are blue skies ahead."
