Air traffic controller 'chickens out' mid-air proposal — so the pilot took over the mic and played cupid

Love makes you feel myriad ways, and for Bryson Katzel, an air traffic controller, it made him feel like he was floating. So, he quite literally declared his love on air! In a YouTube video shared in November 2010, the viral video taken from the year before featured an air traffic controller (ATC) who had planned to propose to his girlfriend, until he "chickened out" at the last minute.

Bryson Katzel's girlfriend, Christine Waters, was on the Air Canada flight from Montreal to Vancouver when he approached the pilot, informing him that he was going to propose to his girlfriend, but backed out at the last minute. The pilot, who did not want to let him ruin this opportunity, asked him for her name so that they could pass on this information. When the ATC asked if it's "too late," the pilot assured him by saying, "Not too late. Not too late for anything. You know where she's sitting?", to which the ATC replied, "I think she's 25C, her name is Christine Waters."

The pilot proceeds to offer him two ways to move ahead: a) Announce his love for her to the whole plane, or b) Invite her to the deck. Katzel chose to boldly declare his love in front of the big audience. Bryson Katzel was then connected to the plane’s intercom system, where he went on to propose to his girlfriend, saying he 'couldn't imagine a life without her. He said, "Christine, I’m crazy in love with you, can’t imagine my life without you. You can’t see me right now, but I’m down on one knee. I have a ring in my hand. Christine, will you make me the happiest man in the world and be my wife?” The pilot soon teased him, describing that everybody on the plane was jumping up and down. He also conveyed the most important news to the ATC, "Everybody is jumping up and down, and she said YES. I can hear it all the way back here."

Though pilots usually don't take unconventional routes to send messages to the passengers, a study in 2015 in Safety Science by H.M. Ploeg et al. observed that pilots use humorous in-flight messages to draw the attention of passengers. This way of communication has been found to improve the passengers' experience in distressed situations. Although Katzel's proposal was not a safety briefing, the pilot and the ATC's interaction mirrors the study on attention-grabbing messages that can captivate passengers who may not enjoy routine announcements.

While the audio was taken around 2009, the video has now been doing the rounds on social media, with users being awestruck by the cheeky interaction between the pilot and the ATC. A YouTube user named @canadianplanespotter commented, "That took a lot of courage, and kudos to this controller and the nice pilots for making it work! I couldn't imagine if his girlfriend declined the proposal and he got rejected in front of 100+ passengers"

@huckinfillbilly3960 praised the pilot's wit and commented, "I've been a pilot and controller for over twenty years at several facilities, and that pilot is one cool cat! I luv how the controller addressed the passengers. Outstanding job by both!" What began as a nervous interaction warmed many hearts in the flight, as well as users online who found the interaction wholesome.

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