A father and son made history when they landed a LIAT flight together at the Ogle International Airport yesterday.
Cameron Handley Sam along with his son Cameron Handley Sam Jnr were the first father and son to have piloted a LIAT aircraft together.
Speaking with Stabroek News, Sam Jnr, 31, who has ten years of flying experience, joked that if he made any mistake his father was there to give him a little hit behind his head and that it was a relief that he had no cause to receive such admonishment.
The senior Sam wore a smile as he conveyed how proud he was of his son and confident in his ability. His only regret was the absence of his father, who would have been proud to see his grandson become a pilot.
Sam, who has been a pilot for 28 years, was born in Kwakwani and subsequently migrated with his family to Antigua. He has been travelling to Guyana regularly but yesterday was the first time he flew into Ogle with his son, who was behind the controls and piloted their first flight into the airport.
Being raised with a pilot for a father and a mother who worked at an airport inspired young Sam to join the aviation profession. “Definitely, he had something to do with it. It was something that I always wanted to do,” he said. His father recalled that he asked him at three what he wanted to be when he grew up and his answer was a pilot.
The father and son are paired together for the week and will be flying to St. Vincent, Antigua, Barbados and Guyana.
