This compassionate pilot swooped in to rescue a stranded family whose 2-year-old refused to cover his breathing holes.

Erik and Michelle Harvey were all set for take off on a flight back to their home city of Austin, Texas to visit family.

Fully aware that all children over the age of 2 are required to wear masks on commercial flights these days, they had been rehearsing the scene with their two-and-a-half-year-old son Jackson for days.

They got him to wear it long enough to board the plane, but shortly after they sat down he began ripping it off. His mom tried to put it back on again and again, and every time he yanked it off.

A flight attendant made a B line to the family and immediately told them they had to get off the plane. Despite the mother’s pleas to give them a second chance, saying she would even hold the mask over his face, the flight attendant insisted that they leave.

Frustrated with his spoiled family vacation, and the fact that all their luggage was on its way to Texas without them, Erik took to social media to vent a couple hours after they got back home.

An old family friend was among thousands of viewers of the 18-minute rant on Facebook and took pity on them. He offered to come pick them up in Denver and take them to Austin on his personal twin-engine airplane, and pick them up again when they were ready to go home… free of charge!

“I have a family of my own and it’s not impossible to get your kids to be awesome on a flight, but to get them to be able to keep a mask on the entire time has its challenges,” said pilot James Peck.

“I just was floored,” Michelle told Fox News.  “I just said [to my husband], ‘You know what, babe? I’m nervous, but I feel like turning him down would be rude, like this is an opportunity.”