Spenser Critterton's journey to the cockpit started with a photo and a dream.
He was just a teenager when his dad snapped a picture of him standing on the tarmac with a CRJ passenger jet behind him. Little did he know that in a few years, he’d find himself boarding the exact same aircraft — proven by the matching registration number — but this time, as the pilot in command.
“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!'"
Capt. Spenser Critterton
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Now 28 and a captain for PSA Airlines, which is owned by American Airlines, Critterton flies tiny regional planes across the country. He's based out of Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.
It didn’t take long for us to see that he always has a smile on his face. It gets even bigger when he tells us this story.
"I still don’t believe it, to be honest with you. It’s still unbelievable to be sitting here," he said.
So, how did it all start?
As his dad, Christian Critterton, recalls: “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."
While not a pilot himself, Christian Critterton shares his son’s love for aviation.
'I had no doubt he’d make it; he’d be in the left seat," his dad said.
It should come as no surprise, then, that a young Spenser would take any chance he got to snap an up-close pic with a plane, on the flight deck or on the ramp. One picture in particular is worth a thousand words, taken more than a decade ago in front of a seemingly normal plane.
“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!'" Spenser Critterton said.
“There’s 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.'"
His father is a proud dad, to say the least. "Proud. Very proud," he said. "To have this moment come full circle, it’s very magical."
It's a story of coincidence, and like his dad said, maybe a little bit of magic. After all, with upwards of 50,000 flights in the skies each day during this Thanksgiving travel rush, what's the chance that Capt. Critterton got to fly an "old friend"?
"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," Spenser Critterton said.
