"Pops?": Father And Daughter Pilots In US Cross Paths On Airport Radio, Their Exchange Wins Hearts

A routine day at the airport turned into a sweet family moment when a father and daughter, both commercial pilots, unexpectedly found themselves on the same radio frequency at Washington Dulles International Airport. The moment happened on September 1, when Kent Katnik was preparing to take off as the pilot of United Airlines Flight 108. Nearby, his daughter Kenny Katnik was also getting ready for departure, flying CommutAir Flight 4977 for United Express.

While Kent was communicating with air traffic control, he suddenly heard a familiar voice come through the headset. His daughter had recognised her father and greeted him with a quick, affectionate call. Kent immediately realised who was speaking and asked where she was. Kenny told him she was holding on Runway 1R, just nearby and ready to depart.

The interaction then took a humorous turn when the air traffic controller asked Kent whether he was a proud father of a pilot daughter. Kent gave a playful response before the conversation shifted to Kenny's living arrangements.

Here's how it went:

Daughter (CommutAir 4977): "Pops?"
Father (United 108): "Who's that?"
Daughter: "Is that you, United 108?"
Father: "Yeah! Where are you?"
Daughter: "We're holding short of Runway 1R, about to go."
Father: "Hey, look at that!"
Pilot 2 (on frequency): "Is that your daughter? You should be a proud papa!"
Father: "Sort of!" (laughs)
Pilot 2: "Is she living at home?"
Father: "No, she moved out... but she's still on my cell phone plan!"
Pilot 2: "Don't let her off until she gets married. I stayed on my mom's plan until I got married!"
Daughter: "Well, I am single!"

The unusual father-daughter encounter was later shared by United Airlines on Instagram, where it quickly caught people's attention. "What I wouldn't give to be in this family group chat rn," the video was captioned. 

Watch the video here:

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A post shared by United Airlines (@united)

Reacting to the conversation, one user wrote, "No matter how high you climb in your career, you can never escape the family data plan lecture." Another said, "Everyone is talking about the cell phone plan, but I'm feeling sentimental over the fact that the father and daughter are both pilots, and for my favorite airline! I love that they casually passed each other on the runway. So cool!"

A third user joked, "The Daughter's like let me let it be known, I am single."

Washington Dulles International Airport is a major airport serving the Washington, DC region and one of United Airlines' key hubs