Our neighbor (who recently moved), had been a pilot for Alaska Airlines for 18 years before health issues forced him to retire. Because of his health, he never received a formal retirement ceremony, which is customary at Alaska. He was not only a pilot, but an instructor and responsible for teaching many pilots to fly and patiently helping them learn. Flying was his absolute passion! Years ago when pilots retired, the fire department would come out and spray the plane with water as a sign of respect when the pilot had a perfect record and never needed their assistance. That practice ended when (twice) the fire departments accidentally used the foam hose instead of the water hose and ended up doing millions of dollars worth of damage to the planes.
But, because Walt was such a special asset to the company and such an amazing pilot for so many years, strings were pulled and the first "water canon salute" was executed in his name. It was such a great day for him!
The plane never left the ground, but for Walt's sake, it was being operated like an actual flight. The day started off with a slideshow of his story and pictures of some of the scary Alaskan run-ways on which he landed during his tenure. The VIP's at Alaska were all present including the President. Next, he went to the flight operations center to get his "plan" for the days "flight". He executed everything as if he was the pilot taking the plane off of the ground. After that we (over 100 friends) all went to Seatac Airport with actual boarding passes to board the plane. We watched through the windows as Walt got to inspect the plane. Once we were all on-board we taxied around for a bit, while the flight attendants (yes, we had 4 attendants) served us cupcakes and coffee. When we arrived back toward the gate, the firemen were there, showering the plane and everyone clapped and cheered. It was such a wonderful moment for Walt. When he deplaned, the Alaska Airlines staff, and his friends and family lined the jetway and clapped and shouted as he rolled through. We felt so lucky to be a part of a wonderful day of celebration for him.
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