Ryan McCormick of Jacksonville, Florida always knew exactly what he wanted to be when he grew up.
While other kids envisioned themselves scoring touchdowns for the NFL or becoming a high-powered attorney, Ryan’s aspirations were a little bit higher. His mother Mary McCormick is a retired pilot for the United States Air Force, and his family flew on TWA so frequently that he dreamed of one day becoming an airline pilot himself.
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Many years and a lot of hard work later, Ryan has done just that. He’s now a captain for PSA Airlines who loves every minute of going to work each day. “TWA is the airline that made me want to be a pilot,” he wrote on Facebook. “The experiences and memories I had flying on them as a kid lead to the four stripes on my shoulder today.”
Ryan is currently based out of Norfolk, Virginia. His mother Mary came to visit recently and spent a lovely time visiting the local sights. When it came time for her to fly back home to Florida, the choice for airline was clear. Mary couldn’t wait to be a passenger on her favorite pilot’s plane!
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Yet as with all things travel-related, things didn’t really go as planned. Mary arrived at the airport on time, only to be told that the flight was delayed. Seriously delayed. Determined to make it onto Ryan’s flight, Mary sat down and decided to wait it out. Other passengers got fed up throughout the long wait, opting eventually to take different flights to avoid spending more time waiting in the airport, but Mary stuck it out.
Seven long hours later, Mary was finally invited to board the plane. That’s when she found out that she was the only passenger who decided to wait for the flight!
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“After a seven hour delay yesterday, every passenger opted to be rebooked on an earlier flight except for one: My Mum,” Ryan wrote later wrote on Facebook. “I had the AMAZING opportunity of being her private pilot while she had the entire airliner to herself.”
Once the hilarity of the situation wore off they decided to make the best of it. After all, it’s not every day that you have an entire jet all to yourself. Knowing the captain and crew were just the icing on the cake!
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Mary called the experience, “a day for the memory book,” and we can’t help but agree. She seems to have thoroughly enjoyed spending some quality time with her son in the cockpit before heading back to select which of the hundreds of seats she felt like using.
Not only that, but the crew found ways to make the experience even more pleasant for Mary. She received flowers and, we have to assume, as many peanut packets and beverages as she could ever want. First class all the way!
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Talk about a happy accident! This is the sort of story you could never even hope to replicate. It was just fate that Mary was the only one to stick out the long delay, but she had a great reason for doing so. Only the best moms would set aside her own time and comfort in order to support her child like this. We’re so happy it worked out for them all.
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