26 SEPTEMBER 2019 ÇPlane&Pilot
S
cattering cremated remains by airplane has been
a labor of love for me and my family for the past 17
years. It started as a way to help a funeral director
friend, but it has evolved into so much more. I am lucky
to have found this opportunity that has given meaning
and purpose to my flying.
I grew up near the Fullerton Airport in Southern
California. Watching the small planes flying overhead
sparked a desire to learn how to fly. At the age of 17, I
convinced my dad to take flying lessons with me. We
would study together and chair-fly together, and then
eventually we each got our licenses (I beat him by 11 days,
but who’s counting?).
I didn’t start flying thinking it would be anything
but a hobby, and I mapped out a career in healthcare
because I had the urge to help people. I went to college
to become a registered dental hygienist. I entertained my
captive audience—the patients in my dental chair—with
flying stories. I told them about flying to Mexico with
the Flying Samaritans, about adventures my dad and I
had, and stories of air racing. It helped keep their minds
off what I was doing. Then one day a patient who was a
funeral director came in for his hygiene appointment,
and everything changed.
My funeral director patient asked me if I had ever
considered scattering cremated remains by airplane.
Apparently, they get occasional requests for this type of
memorial service but didn’t know how to make it happen.
The funeral director was searching for a pilot who was
a professional who would follow the laws and perform
this service with the dignity and respect it deserved. He
helped me research the federal and state laws that regulate
scattering of cremated remains.
Once we determined that it could be done legally, I
then started doing research into establishing a system
and creating a device that would allow me to scatter
the cremated remains safely and elegantly—I wanted
to avoid having anything blow back into the plane or
remove the paint from the fuselage. There are so many
pilots with stories about how they tried to scatter ashes
from a plane and found that it didn’t go as planned. My
dad and I were able to engineer a device that allows me
to scatter cremated remains cleanly and safely. Once all of
these components were in place, I obtained a CrematedRemains Disposer permit from the state of California.
I was hooked after completing a couple of scatter-
ings for this funeral director. I started my scattering
company, called A Journey With Wings. We started out
very simply, with a few unwitnessed scatterings at sea off
the local coastline. Eventually, families started making
more unique requests and asked to be more involved in
the service. I realized that I was not just a pilot to these
families. Instead, I was providing a memorial service as a
professional in the funeral industry. Families and funeral
directors sought me out as a professional who would
provide a service that was reverent, dignified and legal.
Over the years, we have had the honor of flying scatter-
ing flights in many unique locations and in many ways that
are as unique as the life of the person being memorialized.
A Journey With Wings has taken us to many beautiful
locations—over the Grand Canyon, over and around Santa
Catalina Island, and to the peak of Mount Whitney and
beyond. I am often in awe of the scenery we fly over. And
sometimes the memorial flights are intricately detailed,
where we perform the scattering with correct timing
at a precise location to coincide with a service on the
ground. We have customized flights to honor the person
being memorialized—one time we mixed holi powder in
a rainbow of colors into the cremated remains to reflect
the unique brightness of the artist. Each scattering flight
is distinct because each family we serve is unique.
The one scattering flight that stands out the most in
my mind is the flight Roger arranged for his wife, Geri,
who was a world traveler with a joyous spirit. We helped
scout locations to find what resembled a region of African
grasslands, and the family chose the Malibu Creek State
Park. The service was set so those in attendance could
sit under a gorgeous tree staring out over the amber
grasslands with the Malibu hills in the background. Those
in attendance participated in an African drumming cer-
emony and sang to the music of the Beatles.
Roger and his family worked with an event coordinator
to make sure we released the cremated remains at just
the right time and in just the right place. We circled in
the distance, awaiting the radio call from the coordina-
tor. When the time was right, Geri’s family and friends
stepped out from under the tree and onto the grasslands
to “In My Life” by the Beatles. It looked like a beautifulFlown West Actually
Running a business that specializes in scattering ashes
of loved ones is so much more than flying.AIRFARE
By Jamie Tanabe