Tisha Ricketts
At age five, Marlon Dean Dayes took his first flight on Air Jamaica from Kingston to Miami, little did he know back then how special that day was going to be as he entered the aircraft.
As he walk down the aisle to take his seat, Dayes could not contain his excitement and to his surprise, the pilots invited him to view the cabin. Instantly his bond started when he saw the instrument panel–it was that day that he told himself that he wanted to become an airline pilot.
Dayes had ambitious plans, become a pilot by age 19 and fly for a commercial airliner in his early 20’s. Today this 25 year old Jamaican is one of Delta’s youngest pilot just twenty years from his first flight as a passenger on an airplane.
In the video below Dayes, sits down with The Gleaner’s Damion Mitchell to retrace his journey from a Portland boy to one of Delta’s youngest pilots.
