A Utah pilot surprised a special passenger, his unsuspecting grandmother, who had no idea her grandson was flying the plane she was on, with a heartfelt tribute revealing he was in the cockpit.
Airline captain Justin Shurtz brought the cabin to tears thanks to his meticulously planned reunion with his grandmother Carolyn — who helped raise him — ahead of her first visit to him in Utah.
Luckily for Shurtz, he was readily equipped with all the tools to pull off the greeting of a lifetime — thanks to his network of pilots.
He worked with American Airlines to swap one of his scheduled flights with the one Carolyn would be taking to Las Vegas.
“Part of that, I had to contact the crew that was operating the flight, so I called the captain, and I said, ‘Hey, I have a question, and I need some help’,” Shurtz told ABC 4 of his plan.
All the while, Carolyn was blissfully unaware that her very grandson was waiting in the cockpit for her, not at arrivals where they’d planned to meet.
At the beginning of the flight, Shurtz spoke over the intercom to greet passengers and shared the story of his grandmother and late grandfather, who worked in tandem to raise him in Memphis.
Finally, Carolyn realized that she’d been mere feet away from her grandson the entire journey. She tearfully asked if she could get up before hurrying down the aisle to hug Shurtz.
“Then when she realizes it’s me, I’ll never forget the moment where she jumps out into the aisle and sees me standing there and the look on her face. And at that point, that’s when I got nervous. But I was extremely excited because it sunk in that this is real. This is actually happening,” Shurtz told the outlet.
While Carolyn was elated to see Shurtz, she was even prouder to see him on the job doing what he loves.
“I know how hard we struggled and how well they’re doing. You understand? And so that was my biggest thing, just how proud he made me at that moment,” Carolyn told the outlet.
Shurtz was quick to attribute all of his accomplishments to his grandparents’ dedication and support, noting that they were always there for him throughout his life, including his pilot schooling.
Shurtz’s grandfather died in April, but he was able to fly with his grandson in a small airplane years ago when the would-be pilot first started.
“He never would’ve left his side. He would have been right there with him if he could have been there. He said, ‘Scoot over, I’m sitting by Justin.’ He would have been extremely, extremely, extremely pleased. Yes. And He is. He is, yes,” Carolyn told the outlet of her late husband.
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