91-year-old former pilot and Hospice patient takes his final flight
LEE’S SUMMIT, Mo. — A pilot took his final flight Friday morning at the Lee’s Summit Airport.
Fred Marschel, 91, feels most at home when soaring through the sky.
“My big surprise is just being able to see the airport,” he said.
The real surprise is the chance to fly. Marschel is taking his final flight. He couldn’t even remember the last time he was on a plane.
The Crossroads Hospice Gift of a Day Program brought this former pilot’s idea of a perfect day to life.
The naval pilot boarded the plane and shared the moment with longtime friends and family.
“We flew over downtown, went by the stadium, went by the plaza and circled back,” said Beth Marschel, who sat on the plane next to her dad.
This might be Marschel’s last flight but he’s got a long road ahead.
Fred Marschel has been a lover of planes his entire life. He actually built a two-seater experimental plane in his basement. It only took him 11 years to complete.