Southwest pilot dangles out of cockpit window to retrieve passenger’s phone

Civil Aviation southwest_cockpit_window.jpg
Shutterstock.com / Carlos E. Santa Maria

What happens when you realize you left your phone at the airport and your plane is about to take-off? Chances are, you will have to call the airport when you land and report the lost phone.

But if you’re lucky and happen to have a pilot that goes beyond the call of duty, your phone could be brought to you in the aircraft

That’s exactly what happened at Long Beach Airport (LGB) on November 14, 2022 when a Southwest Airlines (LUV) passenger left their mobile phone at the gate. 

The plane was already pushing back when another passenger saw the mobile phone and alerted the airline ground staff, who quickly handed the phone to ramp agents. 

The ramp worker then passed the mobile phone to the pilot, who dangled his torso out of the cockpit window to retrieve the phone.

This act of kindness and dexterity was caught on video, which was uploaded to Southwest Airlines’ (LUV) Twitter account:

“The Captain immediately suggested that the ramp agents on the ground try to jump the phone up to him so he could return it to the customer. The rest was captured on video!,” an airline spokesperson told Fox News.

The spokesperson continued: “We love seeing the goodwill efforts of our employees helping out a fellow passenger. We are grateful to see our team jumping in to help passengers.”