Captain Osama Shakman

Retired airline captain, writer and author of A Pilot’s Story

— I

The Sky as a Teacher

40+ years in the sky were not merely a profession, but a long meditation on the meaning of existence. Borders drawn on maps dissolve, and the world becomes a single, living whole, where everything seems small except the human being.

In that altitude, I learned to observe and to understand before I judge, to see turbulence as part of a greater order not immediately visible to the eye. The sky was my first teacher: its vastness teaches humility, and its silence awakens the art of listening.

“The sky was my first teacher: its vastness teaches humility, and its silence awakens the art of listening.”

— II

From Cockpit to Pen

Today, I exchange the cockpit for the pen—not to recount a professional biography nor to stand on a political platform, but to open a window for reflection.

What I write is not borrowed theory, but thoughts born of lived experience—of long flight hours and quiet moments between takeoff and landing.

— III

A Free Ground for Thought

This space is simply a free ground for thought, where words are kept from noise and the human story is honored, however simple it may seem. For every life, no matter how fleeting, carries a meaning worth telling and a voice worth hearing.

Welcome to a new journey—one measured not in miles, but in depth of thought and breadth of vision.

From the logbook

Milestones

6 February 1980 · Alia

First flight with Alia, as a trainee flight engineer on a Boeing 727-200.
Saudia · Jeddah

Training and service on the Boeing 747 in Jeddah. This chapter ended following the invasion of Kuwait in August 1990.
Gulf Air · Bahrain

A professional chapter with Gulf Air in Bahrain, with a home in Busaiteen.
Three years · Abu Dhabi

Three years in Abu Dhabi, working with Gulf Traveller.