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Pilot dad and son recreate their 30-year-old picture in the cockpit — this time, it's even more special

The son, who was now in his 30s, wanted to surprise his father with a memory of a lifetime. So, they relived their favorite moment.

BY TIYASA BISWAS

PUBLISHED 3 DAYS AGO

A pilot dad and his toddler son pose for a photo in 1994. (Cover Image Source: Southwest Airlines)

Flipping through old photo albums at his grandmother’s house, Ruben Flowers’ eye caught an extraordinary sight. It was a picture of him and his father from 1994. Photos indeed eternalize the precious moments shared. Almost three decades later, Ruben felt emotional seeing the photo that captured his father in his essence, while he stared at his pilot dad in admiration. The father-son duo sat next to each other in the cockpit of a commercial airplane, Ruben still a toddler, while Captain Flowers smiled at the camera before taking off. At 30, Ruben decided to recreate the moment with his dad, as reported by CNN Travel.

Father and son flying a toy glider in backyard. (Representative Image Source: Getty Images | MoMo Productions)

His father, also named Ruben Flowers, was an inspiration to his sons growing up. Ruben recalled the frequent trips to the airport with Capt. Flowers and even trying his hand at the simulators. When his father gave a speech at his school careers day, his heart was filled with pride and joy. However, it was time to return the pride. Training to be a pilot and following in his father’s footsteps was all Ruben had dreamt of. That dream came true when he was set to start flying as a First Officer for Southwest Airlines, the company his father also worked for. There could not have been greater timing as Capt. Flowers was nearing his retirement.

Pilots in the cockpit preparing flight path and checklist. (Representative Image Source: Getty Images | Mystockimages)

Reminiscing about the moment in the photo, Ruben aspired to fly with his father someday before his final Southwest flight. And they did. “It was a dream of mine to make it to this point to fly with my dad, it was probably my number one aviation goal,” Ruben told the outlet. The rediscovered photo came as an encouragement to the father-son duo to recreate a memory of a lifetime. In March 2023, Capt. Flowers manoeuvred his final Southwest flight from Omaha, Nebraska, to Chicago, his home city in Illinois. What made it more memorable than usual was his son sitting beside him as his first officer for the flight.

“That was an awesome feeling. To look over there and see my son, next to me, for my last landing,” the captain said. For his son, it was a dream come true. “It just worked out smoothly and naturally, and it went great,” Ruben noted. Now, the Flowers have a before-and-after comparison to do, and it’s uniquely all the same. However, flying now runs in the family. The Flowers boast of seven pilots, and one can only imagine the topic of discussion during family events. “Me. My brother’s a pilot. I have three kids, all pilots. And my brother’s son is a pilot, and my cousin is a pilot. And it’s just amazing to me that they all wanted to be pilots,” Capt. Flowers revealed. On Facebook, Aviation Review Materials shared their story while ABC7 (@ABC7) did a YouTube deep dive into the father-son dynamic.

Even though pilots are the norm in the Flowers family, it all started with Capt. Flowers and his first visit to the cockpit. Raised in Michigan in the ‘60s, he embraced every opportunity that came his way. When he was invited to take a peek into a flight’s cockpit, Capt. Flowers took a chance and was hooked. “And oh, my God, it was like the bug bit me – I wanted to be a pilot. And from that point on, I just focused on being an airline pilot.” Reflecting on that moment, he believes life had pre-planned his aviation career.