FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – Piper High School Principal Marie Hautigan received the experience of a lifetime on Wednesday.
The Broward County Principal of the Year stepped on, or climbed on, an FA-18 Hornet for a ride with the Blue Angels.
“This is the first time, I’m a little anxious,” Hautigan said.
It’s hard to blame her.
She was in the air for 45 minutes as the plane had more than 13,000 pounds of fuel to burn.
“We’re going to go through a full air show sequence,” said Blue Angels pilot, Lieutenant Commander Thomas Zimmerman.
Hautigan and Zimmerman took off from Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport.
“So we’ll get off to mach .95 so probably around under 700 miles per hour,” Zimmerman told her.
Local 10 News went along for the ride. Watch below for footage from inside the plane:
Hautigan said just how much the experience meant to her.
“To be the Principal of the Year is such an honor and a privilege, and to have this type of recognition, this type of experience, this lifetime memory...someday I’ll have grandchildren. They’re going to say ‘Grandma, you rocked it,’” she said.
For her courage, she was presented with a plaque, and she walked away with a life-changing experience.
“It’s very intense,” she said. “A couple times I felt a little nauseous, but I was good.”