CNN reporter Pete Muntean’s passion for flight took off in Dayton

It was the centennial of the Wright Brothers’ first flight. His late mother, Nancy Lynn, an aerobatics pilot originally from Kettering, was invited for a homecoming to fly in that air show. She encouraged Muntean — who was 15-years-old at the time — to announce her performance, focusing on her history and the touchstones she had to the Dayton area.

The Air Force Thunderbirds, the Navy Blue Angels and the Snowbirds from Canada were all there to celebrate the 100th anniversary at the Dayton International Airport. Muntean recalls climbing the ladder up to the announcer stand, trembling from nerves being amongst thousands of attendees and greats in aviation.

“My mom just kind of threw me into the deep end, and I have to give her a lot of credit for that,” Muntean said. “The biggest thing that I had was a lot of pride for my mom. I was very much involved in my mom’s flying. She used to say, for better or for worse, that we were like business partners; I was the pragmatic one and she was sort of the risk taker.”

Lynn took a chance on having her 15-year-old son announce during her performance. As a result, Muntean was exposed to several broadcasters, many of whom made their living narrating air shows.

Legendary aviation broadcaster Rob Reider, the main announcer for that centennial show, tossed to Muntean. It nudged the teenager into the thick of it, instilling in him a deeper love for flight.

“I remember hearing the reverb of my own voice at the Dayton International Airport in front of all of these people and just being mortified,” Muntean said. “Now I’m very used to my voice. Clearly, I have no problem talking about airplanes, aviation, flying or really anything.”

Muntean currently works in Washington, D.C., doing just that, covering aviation stories and the transportation beat at CNN.

He recently returned to Dayton to emcee this year’s National Aviation Hall of Fame’s Annual Enshrinement Ceremony at the Air Force Museum, which was on Sept. 14. This was his third year doing so.

Seven inductees were honored with the award, including Dr. Peggy Chabrian, founder and former president of Women in Aviation International; Katherine Johnson, a brilliant NASA mathematician and inspiration for the book, “Hidden Figures”; and Col. Frederick Gregory, Deputy Administrator of NASA and first African American to command a space shuttle mission.

These enshrinees had big thumbprints across aviation and aerospace. Muntean considers many of them his heroes.

“To be in the Air Force Museum, to present in the museum, to be the emcee in the museum, the place I would always beg to go to as a kid, was really something incredibly special,” Muntean said. “I don’t know if I could write a better full circle script. I’m not a spiritual person, but I can’t help but think of the poetry.”

Both of his parents were pilots. When Pete was five, his father lost an eye in a plane crash. But despite the injuries, his father continued to fly. He later died in 2000 from glioblastoma.

In 2006, his mother was performing a series of aerobatic maneuvers in an air show in Culpepper, Va. During a low pass, a wing hit the ground and her plane exploded. Lynn died from her injuries within 12 hours.

Still, Pete persisted.

“When my mom crashed, I was already in the throes of getting my [pilot’s] license,” Muntean said. “I think I sort of carried [my dad’s] resolve with me; he was pretty beaten up but he still flew. Flying just provides a certain kind of clarity. I don’t think I could ever ditch it because it keeps me close to the memory of my parents. I do feel closer to them in the sky.”

Muntean grew up in airplanes. The family had a Piper Lance, a six-seat travel plane. They’d sometimes let Pete sit in the pilot seat, a place he now frequently finds himself.

Pete gets up in the air at least once a week in his Super Decathlon, flying aerobatics just like his mom did. Living in D.C., he stows his plane in a little airport in Maryland called Potomac Airfield. If traffic is light, he can be there in 25 minutes. He ascends to the skies, practices aerobatics for 45 minutes, then heads into work for meetings, story pitches and to be on TV.

“In 2024, I think the only interaction people have with flying is on commercial airlines. You’ve got to go through security and take off your shoes… it’s really unromantic and it snaps all the fun out of it,” Muntean said. “My flying is total freedom, because I get to sort of leave the earth and leave all of the problems of day-to-day life on the ground.”

Pete Muntean’s gone from fifteen-year-old aviation announcer to professional broadcaster in the field. He has since announced at air shows for pilot and friend, RJ Gritter. And it all started in Dayton.

Pete says he can sometimes hear his parents’ voices when he’s up in the air.

“It’s a pretty amazing thing to have,” he said. “It’s pretty amazing that we get to fly.”

Contact this contributing writer at branberry100@gmail.com.