Stranded 3,000 miles away from home and her own father just before Father’s Day, 19-year-old Kiana Coffin was in a major panic.
The Hawaii native was traveling back to school at Pacific University in Oregon when bad weather caused her plane (from an unnamed airline) to divert to Seattle.
Thankfully, an observant United Airlines pilot named Robert Fonte spotted the stranded girl and saved the day with a truly chivalrous act of kindness that has the Internet singing praises for the hero in the sky.
“The airline had basically stuck her in a hotel room overnight and had forgotten about her,” said Kiana’s father, Dave Coffin. “At one point, I was about to go book a flight and go get her myself and by the grace of God Robert (the pilot) came into our lives and helped us out.”
The Houston-based pilot initially spotted the young girl talking to a TSA agent, and he could tell she looked troubled and frightened.
“When I first saw Kiana she was with a TSA agent,” said Robert. “I thought that maybe she was in trouble. When I asked if she was doing okay, she just broke up in tears.”
Immediately, the incident made the pilot think of his own daughter who is about the same age as the teen.
“I have a daughter who’s about a year older than Kiana, and what if she got stuck?” he reflected. Robert then marched over to the ticket counter to see what he could do.
It turns out, United doesn’t fly from Seattle to Portland — but that wasn’t enough to stop the pilot from doing what he knew was right.
“Of course I wanted to get her home on our own medal, but at this point, that really didn’t matter,” he shared. “I told the lobby agent you know what, just put it on my card, and we’ll take care of her. We’re gonna get Kiana where she needed to be.”
According to Robert’s own daughter, the selfless act of kindness was not out of character for the loving father.
“I wasn’t surprised that my dad did this for Kiana because he does this kind of stuff all the time,” said 20-year-old Annelise. “He has such a giving heart and loves to help people.”
Kiana’s father is exceedingly grateful for the man who took his daughter under his wing at a time when she needed it most.
“From dad to dad, there are no words that could express my gratitude towards Robert for what he has done,” said Dave. “The simple act of caring for someone else even when you don’t know them. That’s what Robert did for my family.’
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