Captain Spencer Critterton has long been fascinated with planes and even in his younger years was obsessed with them.
So much so that as a teenager, right before boarding a plane, he asked his dad to take a photo of him stood by an aircraft.
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Well fast forward 15 years, and the 28-year-old pilot noticed he would be flying the exact same plane that he posed with.
A captain for PSA Airlines, which is owned by American Airlines, Critterton flies tiny regional planes across the country and is based out of Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.
He admitted to NBC Washington that he simply couldn’t believe how things had randomly aligned to have him flying the exact same aircraft.
Speaking to the outlet, he recalled how he told his dad, Christian Critterton, about the odd occurrence.
The pilot said: “As we’re in the van to go to the airport, I’m like, 'You are not going to believe this! Do you remember 15 years ago we took a picture in front of a plane? We’re flying that same plane today!”
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“There are hundreds of planes here. It’s incredible, and it wasn’t planned. That’s the crazy part," he said. "We showed up and I was like, 'It’s an old friend.'"
Though he isn’t a pilot himself, Spencer’s father noted how proud he was of his son becoming one and said they both shared a passion and fascination for the aviation industry.
He said: “It was one of the things that we did, a father-son thing, was watch planes land at the airport. He’d go home and watch the video over and over again.
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“'I had no doubt he’d make it; he’d be in the left seat. Proud. Very proud. To have this moment come full circle, it’s very magical.”
Spencer added that while today travel can be hectic people fail to mention how much fun it is and beamed as he spoke about the happy coincidence.
He closed by saying: “Because you know, today, travel, it can be hectic, but I think it’s also fun. Everybody leaves out the fun part. If you would’ve told me 15 years ago, 'You are sitting in this plane but you are going to fly it one day' … I would’ve been over the moon."
Topics: Travel, American Airlines
Gerrard Kaonga