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A mother and daughter co-pilot duo delivered an emotional speech at the airport gate before embarking on their first flight together

Jun 2, 2023, 03:35 IST
Insider
Brooke Patterson VanHowe served as first officer while her mother, Brenda Patterson, captained the aircraft.tiktok.com/@united
  • Before boarding a United flight to Newark, a mother-daughter co-pilot duo delivered a touching speech.
  • "It was my dream to fly with my mom, and today that dream comes true," said first officer Brooke Patterson VanHowe.
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TikTok viewers are in their feels following a touching speech from a mother-daughter duo right before they were about to embark on their very first flight together as co-pilots.

In the clip, which has accrued 4 million views since it was posted to United Airlines' official account on Mother's Day, first officer Brooke Patterson VanHowe takes the microphone and addresses passengers waiting to board their flight to Newark.

"Today is a very special flight for us," she says, gesturing to her mom, captain Brenda Patterson. "Probably the most special one in my aviation career." Patterson VanHowe continues that she has dreamed of flying with her mom since she took her very first flight lesson, and today that dream is coming true.

"Not only is she my role model; she's my mother," Patterson VanHowe says as the audience erupts into applause.

At the end of the speech, a woman carrying a young girl approaches the duo, and the child waves at the team admiringly.

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Viewers were moved by the moment, and thought it was emblematic of how far women have come in the industry.

"The little girl waving and getting to see not only one but two pilots who are women... you are both role models," a top commenter wrote; "This brought tears to my eyes as a mom," another said, "This is all we want for our kids to make their dreams a reality."

Other brands cheered United's TikTok tear-jerker. "This is awesome," wrote Jake from State Farm. "We're not crying, you're crying," added Mercedes Benz.

Patterson VanHowe and her mother aren't the only aviation duo making waves. Also on Mother's Day, Teri Eidson and her daughter, Nicole McCallister, became the first mother-daughter duo to copilot an international flight for FedEx from Tennessee to South Korea. Eidson's husband and McCallister's father served as the relief pilot.

"It didn't seem as odd as I thought it would be," Eidson told Insider earlier this month. "We got to cruise, you get to kick back a little bit and put the autopilot on and talk and stuff."

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United did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment. Insider has

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