A United Airlines captain whose flying career was cut short by ALS was able to take one final retirement flight, with his own son in the cockpit. It is a beautiful story, and a sad one too.
United Pilot With ALS Takes Retirement Flight Flown By His Son
Captain Rob Lustman spent 19 years flying for United Airlines, but his career ended earlier than he expected after he was diagnosed with ALS in 2024.
This spring, United gave him a retirement flight.
The flight itself was from Portland, Maine (PWM) to Chicago (ORD), but far more special than the route was that Rob’s son, First Officer Daniel Lustman, piloted the flight, creating the sort of full-circle moment that is almost too perfect to script.
Daniel learned to fly from his father as a child. He was about 12 years old when Rob put him into a small two-seat airplane and introduced him to flying. Years later, Daniel became a United pilot too, and when ALS took away Rob’s ability to finish his career the way he had imagined, Daniel was able to give his father the next best thing.
Before the flight, Daniel made the announcement to passengers, explaining that this was his father’s retirement flight and that Rob had been diagnosed with ALS two years earlier. Rob sat in the cabin and watched his son do what he had taught him to love.
That must have been an extraordinary moment for a father.
It also must have been very hard.
A Retirement Flight With A Different Kind Of Meaning
Pilot retirement flights are often joyful. There are water cannon salutes, speeches at the gate, family members onboard, and plenty of photos. Sometimes they are sentimental in a sweet way, sometimes in a slightly overdone way, but they are usually celebrations of a career completed on the pilot’s own terms (beyond the rule that all pilots must retire at age 65, regardless of health).
This one was different.
Rob did not retire because he reached the mandatory retirement age and was ready to hang up his wings. ALS forced the issue. The disease took away the career he loved, and there is no way to make that part of the story cheerful or positive.
But that is also what makes the moment so moving. United could not give Rob back the years ALS took from him. Daniel could not give his father the flight deck back. But together, they could still mark the end of Rob’s flying career with dignity, love, and gratitude. And they did!
After arriving in Chicago, Rob was met by family, friends, coworkers, and passengers who stayed to be part of the tribute. His wife Erin, also a pilot, described the moment as a testament to who Rob is as a person.
The Love Of Flying, Passed Down
Aviation often becomes a family business, but it’s also not genetic.
Rob’s love of flying began when he was young. Daniel inherited it, but not in some abstract way. His father taught him and mentored him after giving him the bug in the first place. Now Daniel is flying for United and hopes to become a captain and mentor others the way Rob did.
One piece of advice from his dad stayed with him: you have to love flying to do it. The job takes you away from family. It makes you miss things at home and can be quite demanding. But if you love it, the sacrifices make sense (well, and pilots are paid handsomely for their work too, which makes it a lot more bearable).
That line lands differently in a story like this.
Aviation can be a brutal industry. A typical career in the U.S. is full of seniority lists, contract fights, mergers, bankruptcies, and many disappointments. But then a story like this comes along and reminds you why people fall in love with flying in the first place.
For Rob and Daniel Lustman, flying was a beautiful bond between father and son…I could not help but to shed a tear when watching this:
CONCLUSION
United Captain Rob Lustman’s career was cut short by ALS, but his final retirement flight became something profoundly meaningful when his son Daniel, now a United first officer, piloted the aircraft from Portland to Chicago.
It is hard not to be moved by that.
This was not the retirement flight Rob would have chosen if life had been fair. But it was still beautiful: a father watching his son carry forward the work he loved, and a son giving his father one last flight in the only way he still could.
Aviation has plenty of ugly days and news stories. This was one of the good ones.
That’s bitter sweet. Thank you for sharing this with us. Wishing them all the best.
Great write up and story.
great article. thank you for sharing with us
it really is sad how ALS hits some people completely out of the blue… such a tough way to go 🙁
Thank you, Matthew, for this wonderful share. I am wiping a tear or three away. ! Bless this man and his family.
A doctor’s humble reminder → People generally get ALS between the ages of 40 and 70 (Retired UA captain Rob Lustman, born in 1967, had to be diagnosed with this terrible disease when he was 57 years old.). The average age for a diagnosis is 55. The disease becomes more common as people get older, with the highest risk peaking between 55 and 75. Cases in people younger than 40 are rare. Major risk factors for ALS include genetics, aging, and male sex. Environmental factors like smoking and exposure to toxins [heavy metals (like lead and mercury), pesticides, and solvents] also increase risk.
Excellent summary. Thanks, Dr. Üstün.
You are welcome!
A touching and positive story about the vast family of civil aviation, punctuated by happy and unhappy events… More power and best of good luck to father and son Lustman!
A spectacular tribute… For those interested, the great UA B737 captain Rob Lustman’s current wife, Erin Price-Jackson Lustman, is also an active B737 captain at AA.
In the meantime, here’s another meaningful recent airline retirement story → https://people.com/southwest-airlines-pilot-takes-final-flight-with-daughter-copilot-emotional-moment-12003764
Thanks for your service, Captain! Tail winds and blue skies….
With all due respect please define als. It is definitely not approach lighting system. Thank you
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