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Pilot surprises grandmother with touching flight announcement
A grandmother got a heartwarming surprise when her grandson showed up to pilot her flight from Memphis to Chicago recently, delivering a touching tribute before takeoff. (Credit: Gina Abinet via Storyful)
A grandmother got a heartwarming surprise when her grandson showed up to pilot her flight last week.
Family reunion
Dig deeper:
Justin Shurtz was not originally scheduled to fly the plane from Memphis, Tennessee, to Chicago, Illinois, but swapped flights with the original pilot when he learned of his grandmother’s trip.
His grandmother's final destination was Las Vegas, Nevada.
FILE - Justin Shurtz was not originally scheduled to fly the plane, but swapped flights with the original pilot when he learned of his grandmother’s trip to Las Vegas via Chicago. (Gina Abinet via Storyful)
What they're saying:
"She knew I was working. She was expecting me to pick her up in Las Vegas. She had no idea that I was going to show up on her flight," Shurtz told local news media.
Video by Gina Abinet showed the moment Shurtz revealed the surprise by making a special announcement thanking his grandmother for her role in raising and supporting him.
"This is a very special flight for me," Shurtz can be heard saying in the video. "So, my grandparents raised me … they’ve done everything they could to help me to get to where I am today," he said.
Shurtz’s grandmother, after realizing the pilot was her grandson, can be seen getting up from her seat and walking up the aisle to embrace him.
The cabin erupted in applause and cheers.
"This amazing crew that I’m flying with here today was able to help me pull it off to where my grandmother got the opportunity to fly with me to Chicago today," he added.
The Source: Information for this story was taken from Storyful.