Sometimes kids will run into their parents in passing, when they weren’t expecting it. However, it doesn’t typically happen on an air traffic control frequency, while both are at the controls of different aircraft. This is a ridiculously cute story, which can’t help but put a smile on your face…
Dad & daughter pilot different planes at Dulles Airport
A 45-second air traffic control clip has been posted to social media, highlighting a fun recent interaction at Washington Dulles Airport (IAD). Specifically, it involves one of the pilots of UA108, a United Boeing 787 bound for Munich (MUC), and one of the pilots of UA4977, a United Express Embraer E145 bound for Syracuse (SYR).
Long story short, one of the pilots of UA108 communicated with air traffic control, and I guess that voice sounded familiar to one of the pilots of UA4977, and that’s when the fun began:
Daughter: “Pops?”
Dad: “Hello, where you at?”
Daughter: “About to depart 1R, safe travels.”
Dad: “Buh-bye.”
ATC: “That’s your daughter?!”
Dad: “Apparently.”
Daughter: “Yeah, CommuteAir 4977.”
ATC: “So your daughter’s a pilot, aren’t you proud, papa?”
Dad: “Sort of.”
ATC: “Is she still living in your house?”
Dad: “Oh no, but she is on my cell phone plan.”
ATC: “Hey, she’s not allowed off your cell phone plan until she gets married.”
Daughter: “I am single.”
What a feel-good ATC interaction!
All too often I post ATC interactions because of a disagreement or bad attitude between pilots and controllers, so it’s nice to once in a while have a story with a positive interaction.
I can’t help but be curious about the backstory here. Was this a complete coincidence, and the daughter had no clue that her dad was operating out of Dulles Airport that evening, until she heard his voice? Or did she have a sense of his schedule, and then connected the dots as she was taxiing? Either way, well played to all!
Bottom line
A dad and daughter recognized one another over the ATC frequency at Dulles Airport. The dad was flying a Boeing 787 to Munich, while the daughter was flying an Embraer E145 to Syracuse. While we hear all kinds of unusual ATC interactions, this has to be one of the more adorable ones…
What do you make of this Dulles ATC conversation?
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