Quietly Making Something Magical Happen
By Kelly Yaeger
The author (second from left) and her father celebrate his 80th birthday along with her sister and brother..
This isn’t a standard “final flight” story, because it’s about my father’s final flight and my memories of it. Twenty years ago, in 1999, my dad—Capt. Kent Kerbel—took his last flight after 32 years with TWA. It’s easy to remember the year, because I was pregnant with my twin daughters, now 19, on the final leg of his final flight.
I remember the ups and downs of the airline industry through a child’s eyes. The fear of hijackings in the ‘70s, the PATCO strike in 1981, a couple of close calls with furloughs, “on call” days where us kids weren’t allowed to use the phone, company restructuring, and an emergency landing in Baltimore after an engine failed leaving 3,000 feet on take-off. A very small piece of the engine still rests on my Dad’s desk—and I’ll never forget him telling me that some passengers complained as they disembarked after that emergency. My dad missed some holidays, of course, and worked odd hours—but that was normal for our family. We learned to be flexible.
I got bitten by the aviation bug but I went a different path, spending my career as an air traffic controller at Washington ARTCC, aka ZDC. I actually followed my boyfriend, now husband, into the job. Leaving aside the quasi-pseudo-psychological strangeness of a career airline pilot having a daughter and a son-in-law who occasionally “told him where to go,” we enjoyed talking shop, despite being on opposite sides of the frequency. Often, when he was in my general area, he’d dial up the frequencies I worked, listen for me, and say a quick “hello!” You can imagine the anonymous chuckles and comments when I chirped back, “Hi Dad!”
Over the years my dad and I talked shop about any number of things. He once said, “I’ll dirty the airplane [speed brakes/flaps] for my mistake, but not always for the controller’s.” He adored the B757 and said it just wants to fly but it doesn’t want to descend. We talked about pilot-in-command and how the first rule in an emergency is to fly the airplane. He was a big fan of actually flying the aircraft by hand and feel, not letting the computer fly. He worries that young folks don’t have enough experience with that now.
Having grown up watching my Dad’s career and flying a lot myself definitely gave me more of a feel for my job. I know at least two other controllers who have fathers who are airline pilots. Mostly, though, I think it just gave me a better idea that the voice on the frequency was an actual person with responsibilities beyond answering a controller’s call immediately—a real-life person with everyday things like fatigue or scheduling or family issues. He also taught me that real talent doesn’t need to be in the spotlight. A true professional does not boast, just quietly gets the job done well.
While the father/daughter, pilot/ATC relationship might be unusual, it also gave us the unique opportunity to make his final flight even more memorable. My husband flew on the flight deck with him for the whole trip, which included a water salute at LAX. The rest of the family, including grandchildren and future grandchildren, joined him in STL for the final leg to JFK, with my husband and myself on the flight deck. This was pre-9-11 and familiarization flights were easier to arrange. My husband, whose area of specialization feeds the Philly and New York airports, pre-coordinated through friends and co-workers at Washington Center and New York Tracon for my Dad’s final flight to fly the river approach that normally lands LGA, but turn off and land at JFK.
It was evening and we were treated to a stunning orange and red sunset off the left wing, behind the New York City skyline, as we flew over the river. Sinatra’s “New York, New York” played quietly on the public address system. It was like a dream or something you see in a movie. A small announcement might have been made; I don’t remember. I doubt that most of the passengers realized what a special occasion our family was celebrating. But sometimes that’s how it is behind the scenes in the airline industry. A whole lot of anonymous people with special skills, quietly making something magical happen.