St. George pilot surprises grandmother on plane for emotional reunion

ST. GEORGE, Utah (ABC4) — A surprise in the sky left passengers in tears, and it’s all thanks to a southern Utah pilot and the grandmother who helped raise him.

When airline captain Justin Shurtz learned that his grandmother was coming to visit him in St. George for the first time, he knew he wanted to do something special. With help from American Airlines, he found a way to turn a simple flight into a moment they’d both remember forever.

The plan: surprise his grandmother aboard the final leg of her trip into Las Vegas, but first, he had to find a way to get on her flight.

In an interview with ABC4.com, Justin explained, “Part of that, I had to contact the crew that was operating the flight, so I called the captain, and I said, ‘Hey, I have a question, and I need some help.'”

After jumping through a few hoops, Justin managed to swap flights with the original crew.

Meanwhile, his grandma Carolyn had no idea.

“She knew I was working. She was expecting me to pick her up in Las Vegas. She had no idea that I was going to show up on her flight,” Justin said.

Justin stayed out of sight in the cockpit until it was time, and when he came over the intercom to tell the story of his grandparents, who raised him in Memphis, his grandmother suddenly realized who was going to be flying her plane.

“Then when she realizes it’s me, I’ll never forget the moment where she jumps out into the aisle and sees me standing there and the look on her face,” Justin said. “And at that point, that’s when I got nervous. But I was extremely excited because it sunk in that this is real. This is actually happening.”

The reunion was emotional–not just for them, but for everyone on board.

And for Carolyn, it was a moment filled with gratitude and pride.

“I know how hard we struggled and how well they’re doing. You understand? And so that was my biggest thing, just how proud he made me at that moment,” Carolyn told ABC4.com.

Justin said that everything he’s accomplished, including becoming a captain, is because of his grandparents’ unwavering support.

“And they supported me my entire life,” Justin said. “They supported me going through school. Everything that we did in life, they were there backing us, pushing us to be the best of our potential, be who we could be.”

Unfortunately, Justin’s grandfather passed away this year in April and never got to fly with his grandson commercially.

“There was a lot of crying at first, especially when we were talking about my grandpa,” Justin said. “He got to fly with me once in a small airplane a very long time ago, when I first started flying.”

But Carolyn said he would have been proud.

“He never would’ve left his side,” Carolyn said. He would have been right there with him if he could have been there. He said, ‘Scoot over, I’m sitting by Justin.’ He would have been extremely, extremely, extremely pleased. Yes. And He is. He is, yes.”