Video: 6-year-old becomes Etihad 'pilot' for a day

A 6-year-old child got to be a pilot for a day after a video of him explaining an aircraft's operating systems to Etihad Airways pilots went viral.

Etihad invited Adam Mohammed Amer, of Egyptian-Moroccan origin, to fly his favourite Airbus A380 in the airline's training academy, in a gesture to make his dreams of becoming a captain come true.

A video of Adam had earlier gone viral as he approached pilots in the cockpit on board a flight from Morocco to Abu Dhabi and told them exactly what happens during emergency landing, showing technical aviation knowledge.

"Some planes have a Ram air turbine. It gets emergency systems back on if the engines fail. The Ram [air] turbine can help to bring back the systems," he was heard telling Captain Samer Yakhlef, who had filmed the encounter that went viral on social media, gathering over six million views.

In response, Etihad decided to make the child's dream of flying an Airbus A380 come true.

"We were so amazed by Adam when he came to talk to us in the cockpit, that we wanted to make his dreams a reality. Adam became an Etihad pilot for a day, and actually had the opportunity to fly his favourite aircraft in our training academy," the airline said in a statement.

The airline posted a video of the child's experience, showing his excitement while flying the Airbus A380.

"Clear for takeoff, here we go baby," the child, dressed in a pilot suit specially-made for him, is heard telling his co-pilot in the cockpit. "That's your Disconnect ABU, and this is mine."

He ended his four-hour experience by greeting passengers over the plane's tannoy, "Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Abu Dhabi and thank you for choosing Etihad."

Of the experience, Adam told 'Khaleej Times', "It was the best day of my life."

"I got an engine failure test, the go around test and traffic alert avoidance system test," he said.

Of Adam's flight experience, his father Mohammed Amer told 'Khaleej Times' his son got to fly a simulator used for pilots' training.

"He was very happy. Captain Samer along with other pilots and cabin crew welcomed him on board and gave him a real flight experience," said Mohammed.

He added that Adam requested to try emergency situations to test his reactions towards them. "He asked to try engine failing and what happens when the landing gear isn't released. He wanted to try reacting to them as a pilot to see how can he save the plane," said Mohammed.

The child spent about five hours being a pilot, his father said.

The cabin crew had earlier noticed the boy's passion for aviation and aircraft, which prompted them to invite him into the cockpit before the video went viral.

In a previous interview, Adam's parents had told 'Khaleej Times' that they caught the boy's fascination with airplanes and aviation ever since he was one year old.
Adam had told us that he dreams of becoming a pilot as he wishes "to have wings and fly like birds".

He had said he wishes to fly to "America, the North Pole, the South Pole and all the seven skies."

On the day he became a pilot, Etihad crew told him, "Captain Adam, may your dreams fly high!"

sherouk@khaleejtimes.com

• Abu Dhabi

Sherouk Zakaria

sherouk@khaleejtimes.com