As told by AAS’s Department of Loud Ramps and Louder Guitars
Meet Craig “CaveMan” Adams—YYZ’s answer to what happens when you cross a Boeing 777 with a Marshall amp stack. Most ramp rats just knew him by his nickname, “CaveMan.” Why? Because the man looked like he stepped out of a prehistoric rock concert and wandered onto the tarmac in search of luggage instead of mammoths.
Craig worked as a Ramp Station Attendant, but in his final years before retirement, he was strictly tow crew—a job that combined horsepower with hair metal. If you ever heard a jet being pushed back while also hearing the opening riff to Whole Lotta Love, you knew who was driving the tug.
He wore his orange vest like a stage costume and his headset like a rock god’s crown. Legend has it he once towed a Dreamliner perfectly in sync with the Stairway to Heaven solo, and the plane ascended spiritually before it even left the gate.
Craig’s toolkit?
- A headset
- A tow bar
- And a mental setlist of every Led Zeppelin song ever recorded.
You could never tell if he was directing a plane or just air-guitaring to “Black Dog.” Most rookies didn’t even know his real name. “Who’s that guy?” they’d ask.
“Dude, that’s CaveMan. Don’t ask questions. Just follow his beard.”
At home in retirement, he now lives the quiet life—meaning no 747 engines, just two dogs named Zowie and Zeppelin, a beat-up Stratocaster, and neighbors who keep filing noise complaints when he plays “Kashmir” at sunrise in the backyard.
He’s traded in wing walkers for dog walkers, tugs for hammocks, and ramp noise for rock ‘n roll riffs. But once a rampie, always a rampie. His backyard still has orange safety cones—for ambience.
So if you’re ever at YYZ and you hear the faint echo of “Immigrant Song” on the wind…
That’s just CaveMan. Still towing the line. Only now it’s a leash.
