GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — A 96-year-old woman and her 89-year-old husband are back safe and sound in Grand Rapids after an airline mix-up sent them from Florida to New York and back to Florida before finally taking them home.
It’s been quite a ride for these two snowbirds based in Jenison.
But despite the hassle and the worried kids and grandkids, Helen and George say this incident shows you’re never too old for a new experience.
“I call this our most exciting adventure,” said 96-year-old Helen Wheeker.
Relatives dropped off Helen and George at the Fort Lauderdale airport on Wednesday just as they always do as the couple goes back and forth between homes in Jenison and Florida.
But instead, the couple ended up on a flight that took them to someplace called Ogdensburg, New York, 520 miles from Grand Rapids — on the border of Canada.
The tiny upstate airport goes two places — Albany and Florida. That meant Helen and George had to go back to Fort Lauderdale in order to get back to Grand Rapids
Allegiant gave Helen and George a few days and housing accommodation and tonight they flew home.
As this story has gone around the world, Helen says she is enjoying the notoriety and is ready to sign autographs.
For the full story, click here.