Favorite Aviation Stories

Everyone enjoys a good story, and aviation enthusiasts love good aviation stories.

When I encounter people interested in aviation, I am often asked to tell my favorite stories.

This is a true story from my career as an airline pilot.

It was even published in this book of aviation stories, by Patricia Lorenz:

This is actually three separate aviation stories in one.

Here's What Happened...

Fleeting Moments With Fame…And My Wife’s Influence.

One of the fun things about being an airline pilot is that I get to transport some unique and famous people. I’ve flown British royalty, foreign heads of state (complete with secret service agents in the cockpit jumpseat), as well as numerous entertainment and sports celebrities.

When flying celebrities, I have a personal policy to let them have their privacy. Even though I’m their captain and they’re entrusting their lives to me, I leave these people alone. If I do see them, I’ll simply smile and say “hello”. I imagine that their lives are full of people clamoring for pictures, autographs and conversations. I recognize that these folks have feelings and lives beyond their fame and probably enjoy their privacy.

My wife, aware of this policy, has firmly requested that I make one exception. That’s if I ever fly her favorite singer, Amy Grant, I had better not come home without an autograph.

Every time I come home after flying a celebrity, she reiterates the command, “If you ever fly Amy, you’ve got to get her autograph”.

Interestingly, this mandate still stands even though my wife has several autographs, photos and even has had conversations with Amy.

But if I ever fly Amy…

One day, I could not resist playing a trick on my wife.

There is another female vocalist (who will remain unnamed- we’ll call her Ms. X), that for reasons I don’t understand, my wife dislikes as passionately as she loves Amy.

My opportunity to play a joke on my wife presented itself when I had the disliked Ms. X on a flight. This was one of the rare instances that I violated my “leave the celebrities alone” rule.

Walking out of the cockpit with pen and paper in hand, I boldly asked for an autograph for my wife. Much to my pleasure, she asked my wife’s name. The autograph read, “To Julie, Thanks for being such a great fan! Love, Ms. X”.

When I returned home, I said, “Honey, I had your favorite singer onboard today”.

She was instantly excited and I could see the adrenalin kicking in. She exclaimed, “Really? Really? You flew Amy? You had her on a flight! Did you get her autograph?”

“Well, not exactly Amy,” I replied, producing the piece of paper with the autograph. Realizing that it was from the singer she detests and not Amy, she promptly hit me. She can pack a pretty good punch when there is adrenalin involved. My flying arm was sore for days.

Apparently, she did not see the humor in this.

My next fleeting encounter with a famous vocalist was flying Gloria Estefan from Mexico City to Miami.

In this case, I am the fan and not my wife, but she influenced my interaction with Gloria.

My fondness of Gloria is nowhere near the degree of my wife’s admiration of Amy. My desire to meet Gloria had to do with an unfulfilled dream.

This dream stems from the fact that I am a trumpet player. I have always dreamed of playing in a band like hers.

I wisely made the career choice to pursue aviation instead of music. Had I tried music, I’d still probably be playing in the lounge of some Holiday Inn somewhere. It’s actually much easier to land a good job as a pilot than as a musician. A big part of me wishes that I could be in the horn section of a band backing up someone like Gloria.

Even though I knew Gloria Estefan was onboard, I was sticking to my policy of leaving the celebrities alone.

I left the cockpit to use the bathroom. After I came out of the lavatory, Gloria was standing there waiting to use it. We started a brief conversation.

Instead of using this rare opportunity to say something like, “I’m a pretty good trumpet player. We both live in South Florida. If you ever need someone to fill in, please give me a call.”

No, that was not at all what I was thinking.

Instead, my thoughts were “I hope I left the toilet seat down. Did I leave it up or down? I can’t go back and check. What will she think if I left it up?”

Again, my wife’s influence was revealing itself. From her training, I now realize that the MOST important thing is whether you put down the toilet seat, and not lining up a good music gig.

Another fleeting moment with fame involved Dolly Parton.

I ran into her- literally!

I had just arrived at the gate area, ready to begin the pre-flight duties. While entering the door security code, I glanced out the window and noticed the plane at the gate. This was at O’Hare, which has very large, heavy doors leading to the jet bridge.

What I didn’t realize was that the plane had just pulled into the gate and the passengers hadn’t deplaned yet.

When my code unlocked the door, I gave it a hard pull. At the same time, Dolly Parton pushed forcefully on the other side. The result- we had a head-on collision!

We stumbled back, apologized, and went on our separate ways.

Again, enter my wife’s good influence. Did I think, “Wow, what a looker!?” or “Hoooo, bab-yyy!?” No. This is what I was thinking, “Boy, she’s a lot shorter than she looks on TV. I had no idea. The top of her head was below my chin, even with that “floofed-up hair’”.

No kidding. That was it.

I’m very glad that we’re celebrating 24 great years of marriage. That’s a rarity in this profession. I am also delighted that my beloved bride has such a pervasive influence on my thoughts and behavior.

Copyright 2005 Ph.Developments USA, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Here are some more of my favorite aviation stories...

Here's his book: