North Carolina pilot makes it home to Charlotte just in time for son's birth

CHARLOTTE, N.C (WTVD) -- A North Carolina pilot is thanking fellow crew members and air traffic controllers after making it home to Charlotte just in time for the birth of his son.

Cody Burd, a captain with Pacific Southwest Airlines, was finishing a work trip in Lexington, Kentucky, when his wife went into labor early in the morning back home in Charlotte.

"She called me at like 4:30 in the morning and said, 'Hey, I think I need you to come home,'" Burd said. "I just had this stinking feeling that labor or my water or something was going to break when you're gone -- and lo and behold, that is exactly what happened."

After speaking with his wife, Burd boarded a full flight headed to the Queen City. As the plane approached Charlotte Douglas International Airport, air traffic controllers cleared the way to allow the flight to land as quickly as possible.

The quick coordination helped Burd make it home just in time to be there for the birth.

Both mother and baby are doing well. The family says they are grateful to the pilots, crew members and air traffic controllers who helped make the emotional journey home possible.