ATL Stories: Behind the Yoke With 13-Year-Old Zaron Mack
Young aspiring pilot gets the Airport tour of a lifetime.
By Jennifer Ogunsola
Communications Manager
What were you doing at 13 years old? Most likely hanging at the mall with friends, playing video games, and other typical things that kids do. But I’m pretty sure that you weren’t spending your weekends in the cockpit behind the yoke, flying a Beechcraft B24 like Zaron Mack.
“We lived about a mile from Dobbins Airforce Base, and as soon as big planes took off, they would fly straight over our house,” said Atlanta native Zaron Mack. “Every time they took off or were landing, I could hear them coming and would go straight to the window and get all excited.”
Mack’s grandfather would see how excited his four-year-old grandson was to hear and see the airplanes, so he began taking him to Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL). They didn’t go to the Airport to catch a flight; instead, his grandfather would park at the top level of the North Hourly parking deck and let Zaron watch the planes take off and land for hours. This bonding experience set the tone for Zaron’s future. He began drawing airplanes, as well as making astonishingly intricate and detailed paper airplanes. By six years old, Zaron Mack knew exactly what he wanted to do with his life.
As years went by, Zaron proved that he was anything but a typical young boy. He enrolled in “YouTube University” and began immersing himself in all things aviation. “For me, the main thing is YouTube and then writing things down and working to remember it,” said the Pine Mountain Middle School eighth-grader. “And every once in a while, I’ll do detailed research online from other websites if I need further information.”
The YouTube platform allows anyone to upload information and videos, so the concern may be if he’s discerning what’s credible from what’s not. “Mainly, I never look for people who are sitting at a desk trying to explain things,” he so eloquently shared. “[Sometimes], those videos are helpful, but I generally look for people who are flying while teaching so that I can get a good visual understanding of what they’re saying.”
Zaron talks and walks like an aviation pro already, and his mom’s sister-in-law was so amazed by him that she initiated a call to Fox 5 Atlanta to share his story. Well, Fox 5 was blown away by Zaron and his abilities at such a young age that they immediately did a story. [Check it out here.]
From that news feature, three major things happened for Zaron.
- John Selden, general manager of the world’s busiest and most efficient airport, saw it and wanted to meet him.
- Delta Air Lines saw the news story and wanted him to have an exclusive pilot’s aviation experience.
- A flight instructor wanted to give him the experience of a lifetime.
It was 9 a.m. on Monday, Oct. 27, and Zaron and his mother, Jessica, arrived at Hartsfield-Jackson not knowing what the day would bring, but were equally excited about the day planned for them at ATL. Selden was also excited, as he had been on conference calls with his team and Delta in the days prior, planning to make this day special.
Zaron walked into Selden’s office, where they greeted each other and began talking nonstop about planes. Now, it’s important to mention that Selden flew all kinds of aircraft while in the Navy and he was also a commercial pilot for many years, so he’s dedicated his life to flying the friendly skies.
Selden was blown away by Zaron’s maturity and thorough knowledge of airplanes, how they work, and his knowledge of all the cool language that aviation pros study for years. Zaron knew a lot of it as a young teen with no formal aviation education. He gave Zaron some valuable advice for life and a Navy pilot’s pin for his mother, Jessica, to pin on him if and when he follows in Selden’s footsteps to become a Navy pilot before going to a commercial airline. They then proceeded to see ATL from a view that very few non-employees experience. They went to Stogner Hill, a hill named in honor of a beloved Airport leader that overlooks the airfield and allows visitors to monitor plane activity. As the planes went by, they played a guessing game to see who knew more planes.
Zaron claimed that victory.
After a quick ride on the airfield over to Concourse T, Selden handed the baton to the Delta Air Lines team, who had an Airbus A321 waiting in true VIP style. Capt. Bryan Dickerson, director and chief pilot of Flight Operations, and pilot Captain Jared Hodge were standing there ready to teach Zaron some new aviation tricks. Capt. Hodge provided a thorough tour of the Airbus 321, starting from its exterior.
After, they walked up the stairs to enter the plane and as they reached the cockpit, you could immediately tell that this was the perfect ending to Zaron’s already perfect day. Captain Hodge spent extensive time talking with Zaron about the intricacies of flying as well as giving him some great advice to remember on his journey to becoming a successful pilot.
He even let Zaron make an inflight announcement as Captain Mack.
“This is Captain Mack speaking. We’ll be up to about 3,000 feet. We’ll be flying to McCollum [Cobb County International Airport]. It’s not really a good route, but today is something new. You’re pretty safe on this plane. It’s my first time on an Airbus, but today is the day to try something new. Alright. You have a good flight and I’ll see you guys on the ground.”
Laughing hysterically, Captain Hodge said, “I love it. I love it. I wish I could record that and tell all the pilots, ‘This is how you make a PA.’ That’s six stars!”
As such an unforgettable experience for Zaron Mack, it all started with Fox 5 Atlanta sharing his story with the world. Since his interview in August, he has actually flown three airplanes.
“Flying from PDK to McCollum, I flew into Class G airspace, which is pretty much an uncontrolled airspace, and then went over turns, climbing, descending, and stuff like that,” said Mack. “Then I got to fly and set up the plan for approach, which is a downward base final. Once we turned on final, the flight instructor took control.”
We’re all rooting for Zaron Mack to become one of our country’s greatest pilots. And he has a pretty good team in his corner.
To follow Zaron Mack’s aviation journey, follow him on Facebook or Instagram.
For any updates, find us @atlairport on all platforms.
