David Garcia is one of 22 foreign pilots for China Express, a regional airline. [Provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Garcia was born into a pilot's family in Seattle and grew up next to an airport. Inspired by the adventures of his grandfather and uncle, retired pilots, Garcia showed strong interest in flying as a child.

"Seeing new places and being able to travel the world so quickly is what made me want to fly," he said. "I took my first flying lesson, and ever since then I've been hooked on it."

He got the pilot's certificate at 16, worked for airlines at 22 and became a captain at 25. In addition, Garcia's sister is an engineer at Boeing, a major US aircraft manufacturer. Several family members have earned pilot's certificates to add pleasure to life.

"If you want to be a pilot, I would definitely say study hard and stay out of trouble," Garcia said. "Being a pilot, you need to have a good record. Just learn as much as you can. Go on the internet and then learn. Go to museums and learn about airplanes and don't give up."

Garcia's log books show more than 8,000 hours piloting about 15 types of aircraft, mostly small ones, such as the Bombardier CRJ-900 with around 70 passenger seats. Now he has flown regional jets more than 1,700 hours for China Express.

"A good pilot may not be a qualified captain," Garcia said, noting that the captain plays a managerial role and needs to make quick decisions.