For parents, saying goodbye to their soldier sons and daughters when they get deployed is practically impossible, as there’s no guarantee when or if they’ll ever come back from serving their country. So when a Washington D.C. based pilot found out that a flight that was returning from Kuwait was going to be carrying soldiers, he jumped at the chance to pilot it.
Capt. Mario Lopes was relieved to finally find out that his son, First Lt. Mario Lopes, was scheduled to return from his deployment in Kuwait on April 14. Then the United Airlines pilot found out that there was a flight from Kuwait to Norfolk, Virginia on that day, and knew it couldn’t be a coincidence.
“I told my wife that this couldn’t be a coincidence,” Capt. Lopes said. “No one could confirm or deny if he would actually be a passenger on my aircraft, but I knew I had to take the chance and find out.”
Finally, when the soldiers began boarding the plane, he spotted his son, and devised a plan with the plane’s crew to surprise him. “I gave my lead flight attendant Audrey a bag of Mario’s favorite cookies to distract him while I tried to sneak on board,” Capt. Lopes said.
“I made my way behind him and asked, ‘First Lieutenant Lopes, what are you doing on my aircraft?'” Capt. Lopes said. “When he turned around we embraced for as long as I could hold him. I cannot express the emotions I felt holding my son after not seeing him for so long.”
“I have been flying since I was 17, I’ve worked for multiple companies prior to my 27-year career at United. I’ve had a lot of memories, but this flight is by far the most important to me.”
Watch the entire video below to see the incredible moment this son realizes who’s flying him home.
Can you believe this dad got to fly his soldier son home after not being able to see him for such a long time? Let us know what you think in the comments below, and please SHARE this with friends on Facebook.
[Featured image credit: Youtube/Mario J. Lopes]
Pilot Dad Surprises Soldier Son On His Flight Back Home is an article from: LifeDaily