Parkinsons Sufferer, 84, Flies Over Autumn Foliage

This is the moment an 84-year-old Parkinson's sufferer who was a pilot in her youth flies again as she fulfils her parting wish to see the famed New England autumn foliage from above.

The video of Myrta Gage piloting the Piper Warrior light aircraft was posted to the Facebook group 'u local New Hampshire' by pilot Cody Mattiello on 12th October.

Mattiello told Newsflash: "I am an IFR-rated private pilot who keeps my plane at the Concord NH Airport and was asked by a long-time flight instructor on the field that a man had come to them trying to fulfil his mother's wish to fly a plane again, since her and her husband had been pilots in her youth.

"Due to insurance requirements and FAA requirements, the flight school would not be able to take her up. I said I would be happy to take a fellow pilot up in my plane to help with her wish to fly again.

"So after some planning, we met at the airport and we helped her get into the plane and we went on a flight around the mountains and lakes of New Hampshire to look at the fall foliage and to give her some stick time flying again.

"She did amazing and even with her condition, she was able to fly like nothing had changed from the years it (had) been since she flew a plane last.

"We flew back to Concord and landed and as we walked away from the plane, she kissed my hand, as she had trouble talking, and I know it was worth it to help out with her wish and her amazing son who looks after her. I was happy to give it as a gift to her."

The woman's son, Earl Gage, told Newsflash of Myrta's remarkable life.

He said of his mother, who was born in the Swiss city of Basel: "Always ready for an adventure, at the age of 16, Myrta met a young Jesuit American seminarian who was riding his motorcycle through Europe.

"That motorcycle changed her life trajectory and while she finished secondary school to become a Montessori/Waldorf teacher, her husband-to-be returned to the States and graduated from Boston College with a degree in law."

Earl told Newsflash that his mother was 20 years old when she boarded a ship to New York City and settled with her husband in the city of Berlin in the US state of New Hampshire. The couple would go on to have two children.

It was in the late 1960s that Myrta became interested in flying.

Earl told Newsflash: "After her husband obtained his pilot licence, Myrta was hooked and obtained her private pilot licence in a Cessna Cub."

According to Earl, Myrta's solo flight, which was the last step in obtaining her licence, was quite the event.

He told Newsflash: "It was, I believe, 1974 when Myrta took off from the Berlin Airport. Her instructor, friends, and her husband and four children all gathered at the airport to celebrate upon her return.

"When she did not return and could not be reached by radio, her plane was reported missing with all local airports on alert.

"Meanwhile, unconcerned that she had inadvertently changed her radio frequency, Myrta was enjoying the freedom and the gorgeous views that flying in the White Mountains of NH (New Hampshire) has to offer.

"She decided to head toward the river and follow it back to Berlin. As the afternoon passed and her fuel was getting low, Myrta was preparing for an emergency landing when a voice came through on her radio. It was Shirley Mann, a respected pilot and instructor out of Lebanon, NH Airport.

"Shirley, impressed with Myrta's calm demeanour, determined she was following the Connecticut River and not the Androscoggin River, and talked Myrta down with a perfect landing at Lebanon Airport."

It was in approximately 1996, according to Earl, that his mother was diagnosed with "Parkinson-like syndrome".

He told Newsflash: "The past 23 years have involved slow deterioration and painful days as Myrta fights Parkinson's and makes the most of her good days."

Of his mother's recent return to the skies, Earl told Newsflash: "The recent flight afforded to her has not only made her happier, but appears to have brought back many memories, not to mention put a little jump in her step because of it."

He added: "We hope that Myrta's story will inspire others who suffer from chronic illness and their families to seize the day."

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