Former Pilot with Parkinson’s, 84, returns to cockpit for one last time

Team Udayavani, Oct 20, 2021, 12:03 PM IST

In New Hampshire, the United States, a beautiful video circulating on social media shows an 84-year-old former pilot stricken with Parkinson’s disease returning to the cockpit to relive her dream. Another pilot, Cody Mattiello, posted a video on Facebook of the octogenarian Myrta Gage piloting the plane with her co-pilot.

The caption read, “I was asked a few days ago to help fulfill this amazing lady’s final wish to fly a plane again.”

Gage was a pilot in her childhood, but she now has Parkinson’s disease, a neurological ailment that causes tremors, stiffness, and trouble with voluntary movements, balance, and coordination, according to Mattiello’s post. Mattiello went on to say that due to her age, she would be unable to use a flight school due to insurance restrictions. Gage’s kid enlisted Mattiello’s assistance at that point. Mattiello went on to say that he was delighted to assist another pilot. “Lake Winnipesaukee and around Mount Kearsarge” was the pilot’s intended flight path. As Mattiello writes, the flight showed Gage the lovely autumn colours. “I consider myself fortunate to be a New Hampshire native pilot.”

Many people were moved by the video and complimented the woman’s spirit for resuming her flight. “Once a pilot, always a pilot,” one person noted, while another added, “Despite her condition, she appeared so confident and self-assured in her flight.”