It was a magical moment in the sky when two Jamaican pilots with Delta Airlines ended up on the same flight a few weeks ago.

Both men wanted to be pilots from they were young, have family lines hailing from Buff Bay, Portland, and uncannily have a strong resemblance which has been pointed out numerous times by strangers.

They are 29-year-old first officer Marlon Dean Dayes, and captain Mark Lumsden. They met about three months prior to the flight in February, and exchanged contact information. When they ended up flying on the same aircraft, it was a proud moment for both.

“It was a good feeling because for one, it was the first time it ever happened for me. It was the first time I ever flew, since I’ve been at Delta, with another Jamaican. It was a very big deal to know that two people from such a small country are together at the world’s second largest airline. For me, that was just remarkable,” Dayes, a Wolmer’s Boys’ School alumnus, told the Jamaica Observer in an interview.

Dayes, who has been at Delta for over four years, added that there was a deep connection.

“Just seeing somebody who talks like me, who can relate to my culture, who looks like me, is rare. To be honest, there was a reason why they call black pilots minorities. So, to have a Jamaican in that is a minority in the minority itself. It just felt extra special, especially in Black History Month. We could crack Jamaican jokes and relate to certain things, speak about Air Jamaica and various things. It felt at home,” he added.

While Lumsden has flown with numerous first officers in his 35-year career at Delta, he told the Sunday Observer that he was equally as pleased as Dayes.

Typically, every airplane has two pilots on a flight — a first officer and a captain. The first officer works alongside the captain, as both pilots are equally trained in terms of certification. However, captains are usually at the airlines much longer.

“I feel similarly proud. I’ve flown with other Jamaican first officers before. However, it’s been Marlon’s first time flying with a Jamaican captain and I am always proud to fly with a fellow countryman, knowing the hurdles we endure. We are still three per cent of the pilots that are of colour in North America. So, if I find another pilot from Jamaica, I’m just very proud,” he related.

Lumsden said he wanted to be a pilot since he was six.

“My dream to be a pilot goes way back to then and Marlon was the same. I went to Mona Prep and then I went to Campion College, and then I migrated to the United States where I pursued it,” he recalled.

He came back to Jamaica in pursuit of working for Air Jamaica which was in operation at the time. That dream was not fulfilled because of time constraints.

“I went back to the States and that’s where I stayed. I’ve been with Delta for 28 years and I’ve been flying for a total of 35 years. Wow… now I am starting to feel very old,” he said, laughing.

Dayes became a pilot at 19 and started flying for a commercial airline in his early 20’s. In January 2020, he realised a lifelong dream of flying back to Jamaica. He was emotional when he was flooded with hugs and applause from over 150 passengers after landing at the Norman Manley International Airport in Kingston.

Noting that his next goal is to fly back to his homeland as a captain, he told the Sunday Observer that he met Lumsden three months prior to the flight and they jokingly made plans about flying together one day.

“We run joke that one day we need to fly together. It’s such a big company with almost 14,000 pilots now, that the chances of you flying with somebody, especially so soon after you meet them is very low. There are so many different pilots. When I showed up and saw him, instantly, he was like ‘we have to take a picture.’ And I was like, yea,” he said.

He described it as teamwork.

“It’s fifty-fifty. But if we have a disagreement, the final say comes down to the captain. Other than that, let’s say we’re supposed to fly to Kingston; the captain might fly down there first and then I fly back. When you’re not flying, you’re pilot monitoring… you basically do all the announcements to the passengers, you do with all the non-flying stuff such as speaking to air traffic controllers and monitor the systems and flight paths and that kinda stuff.”

Captain Lumsden told the Sunday Observer that he has always strived to inspire throughout his career.

“Even if it’s just one person that looks up to me as a role model, I feel like my job is done. I’ve always felt like I’m a role model and I have been involved in different organisations to encourage the younger generation and share my experiences and knowledge and networking. Becoming a pilot is really a lot about networking. Marlon will be in my shoes in 28 years. He is very hard-working. It’s just a matter of time. By then, I will be retired,” he said.

And that was exactly what occurred in the moment, as Dayes said: “It gave me an extra bit of inspiration and an extra bit of confidence to know that when my time comes to be a captain, I can do it. Because as I mentioned before, seeing somebody who looks like me, who speaks like me, can relate to my culture and has been through what I’ve been through, to see them lead, in charge and to see how they set the tone is definitely extra special to me.

“It shows me that, as Jamaicans always say ‘we likkle bit, but we tallawah.’ It nuh really matter where you’re from. The confidence is there to do it. It was very, very special to me. It’s like seeing a big man weh a set the trend and pave the way fi we. And to hear his experiences of things he has been through over the years and how they’ve paved the path for me as a young black man coming up.”

Both men found humour in comments on social media from individuals who, at first, believed they were a father-son duo.

“I’ve heard the father-son comments a lot. The irony is that Marlon is from Portland, from Buff Bay, and my father’s family is from Buff Bay. We are all related, basically, when you go far enough back. The resemblance definitely is there and the possibility of relation is there,” Lumsden told the Sunday Observer.