Should the day come when you must actually make good on your promise, you may find comfort in knowing that scattering your friend’s cremains needn’t involve parachutes, bungee cords or mountain-scaling gear. For fees ranging from less than $200 to $450 or more, ash-scattering services with names like Air Legacy, Aerial Missions, Scatterings and Heaven’s Wings will release cremated remains during a flight over your specified location.

Earl Haskins of Air Legacy provides aerial ash scattering services for the Colorado Rocky mountain region and parts of Kansas, Nebraska and Wyoming.  Earl does his aerial scatterings with a Cessna 182.  This particular model is considered high performance and is necessary in order to fly at high altitudes in the mountainous regions.  Families who use Air Legacy’s service say it’s a very emotional event.  The trail the ashes leave behind when released from the plane represents the last physical existence of a loved one.

In addition to the flight and scattering, the basic fee typically includes a certificate of disposition bearing the date, time and GPS coordinates of the release, along with any permits required by local ordinance. For an additional fee, some companies will allow passengers to board the flight or coordinate an “observed release” at a specific time and place so that family and friends may witness the scattering from the ground.