Plane Returns to Gate to Pick Up Special Passenger Who Had Lost Passport

Here’s a nice story from Israel as an El Al flight bound for JFK returned to the gate to pick up a passenger. A little girl headed to a special camp in New York for children suffering from cancer, had previously de-boarded the plane after not being able to locate her passport. The plane was just about to takeoff when a fellow passenger located the passport in another camper’s suitcase. The pilot contacted the control tower, El Al corporate offices and the ground crew to see if he could return back to the gate to pick up the girl. After 30 minutes of negotiations, the pilot received the OK to turn back around and pick her up while the rest of the plane broke out in applause. From the Times of Israel:

“Her dream came true!” wrote Rabbi Yaakov Pinsky, director of Chaiyanu, Chai Lifeline’s Israel branch. ”Those of us on the plane experienced something as well. Instead of the hostility that usually greets a plane delay, there were cheers and tears on that El Al plane, flight 007. Passengers and crew shared Inbar’s happiness and excitement.”

“Planes rarely return to the gate after departing,” said El Al in a statement. “The plane was on its way to the runway, when the passport was found on the plane. After consulting with El Al crew on the plane and El Al staff at the airport the decision was made and the plane returned to pick up Inbar. El Al was honored and proud to help Inbar’s dream to go to the camp in the USA come true. We wish Inbar full recovery and health.”

According to its website, Camp Simcha offers young patients aged 5 – 20 a chance to enjoy a normal camp experience and take their minds off their illness. “They can share their hopes, fears and triumphs with friends, or just forget about illness for a while.”