First Caymanian to pilot American Airlines plane touches down at Owen Roberts

Tyler Mosley always dreamed of flying into Owen Roberts International Airport as a commercial airline pilot and on Wednesday that dream became a reality.

“It was an awesome feeling and it’s just such an honour and so rewarding,” Mosley told the Cayman Compass Thursday from his Florida home.

Mosley, the first officer on the Miami flight, was handed over the controls to land by Captain Greg Harrington, and welcomed with a water cannon salute as he taxied to the terminal.

His father Tony, along with other relatives and friends, embraced Mosley after he disembarked from the plane.

The moment brought a flood of emotions for the 29-year-old as he recalled playing at the airport, with aunts Shirley and Pam Roulstone watching him while they worked.

“The two of them would take me to the airport, put me up at the waving gallery, and I’d just sit and watch all day. I fostered that love for aviation,” he said.

Being able to fly the American Airlines Airbus “home” into Grand Cayman from Miami was not the only milestone for Mosley.

“[I found] out the day before that I’m the first pilot for American Airlines that is Caymanian and to have flown back to the island… that was a great honour,” he said.

He described the emotional moment as he spotted West Bay on the horizon.

“There was [the feeling of] the culmination of one of… my dreams when I started out on this journey,” he recalled.

Mosley, who was born in the US and briefly lived in Cayman with his relatives on South Church Street, said he would visit often to spend time with his father Tony, his aunts, cousins and his beloved grandmother Grace McTaggart-Hurst.

He lives in Florida with his girlfriend Christa Case and their puppy Dewey.

Cayman Islands Airports Authority CEO Albert Anderson, in a comment to the Compass on Mosley’s achievement, congratulated the pilot for marking “a historic moment”.

“His return on this inaugural flight, celebrated with the traditional water cannon salute, resonates with pride and underscores the significance of his achievements,” he said.

The dream that was almost grounded

Mosley said his dream of landing in Grand Cayman as an American Airlines pilot almost did not happen.

The COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 pushed his aspirations further out of reach, he said, as the aviation industry reeled from the shutting down of borders around the world.

Mosley, who was employed at various smaller air carriers at the time, said during the pandemic major airlines were reorganising their hiring practices.

“There wasn’t really a super bright future at that time for aviation and I thought I’m really thankful and really lucky that I have a job right now… [E]ven if I don’t get the flight to Cayman, I’m just thankful to have a job,” he said.

But, in 2023 the call Mosley had been waiting for finally came, though he was then happily employed at Spirit Airlines.

“That’s a call you don’t say no to… Being based out of Miami, having the opportunity to fly home, having the travel benefits to be able to go home whenever I want and I’d still be based halfway between my family, two hours to my mom [Jeannine Lynn] and an hour to my dad [in Cayman],” he said.

He said it was “amazing” when he received his wings from American Airlines vice president of flight operations Russ Moore 11 months ago.

Though the opportunity to fly to Grand Cayman took some time, Mosley did not give up hope.

In the second week of December when pilots try to pick their schedules, he noticed there were more Cayman flights than usual on the Airbus, which is the plane he flies.

“I think I asked for about 11 or 12 of [the Cayman route],” he recounted, laughing.

Though he did not get the number he requested, Mosley was selected for the 17 Jan. flight. “I called my dad and Shirley that night when I found out that I got [it].”

The two of them set the wheels in motion for his family to welcome him.

He mentioned the idea to AA flight manager GCM Nadine Jennings, who approached the corporate office of the airline; they arranged ramp passes for his family as well as the water cannon.

“To be able to see them and hug them and… just [get] a warm welcome from everybody that we saw was… incredible.”

Mosley had to return to Miami in the afternoon, but he said he is looking forward to coming back as a passenger.

He encouraged young Caymanians to embrace aviation as a career path.

“It takes a lot of effort to get to this point and a lot of sacrifice… but if it’s a dream of yours, put in the work and it’ll pay off,” he said.

He added that if he had been told it would only take 10 years for him to fly to Cayman, “I would have said, there’s no way I’ll get there that quick.”