North Carolina pilot retiring after 34 years receives perfect send-off on American Airlines flight

After 34 years in the sky, North Carolina-based American Airlines pilot Steve Scheibner received the kind of farewell that every aviator dreams of.

His final flight ended not with fanfare or applause, but with a quiet, breathtaking display that felt almost divine.

As the fire trucks lined up to spray their farewell salute, sunlight broke through and caught the mist in the air.

From the cockpit, a rainbow formed right in front of him.

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The rainbow that marked the end of a lifetime in the sky for this pilot

American Airlines pilot Steve Scheibner had known this day was coming for a while.

He had flown thousands of hours and carried countless passengers across the world in his favorite passenger plane, the Boeing 777, including some notable celebrities.

He particularly enjoyed a visit in the cockpit from Airplane‘s iconic straight man Leslie Nielsen poking his head into the cockpit and hitting him with his famous line:

“Good luck, and we are all counting on you”.

But there was nothing that could prepare him for the sight that waited as he taxied off the runway for the last time.

“I had done a lot of thinking about it before,” he told Supercar Blondie.

“But when you are in that moment, it all hits at once.

“I had just touched down for the last time. I was never going to land a big jet again. Then I looked out and saw the two fire trucks move into place, and I knew it was about to happen.”

As he rolled under the arches of water, time seemed to slow.

“It was a beautiful day. The sun was shining, not a cloud in the sky. As I looked out at the water, the sun hit it just right, and there was a rainbow in it.”

It was a moment that caught him completely off guard.

“My lip got a little wobbly,” he admitted, misty-eyed.

“I am having a hard time talking about it even now.”

That rainbow meant something more than ceremony:

“It was like a ribbon on top of the present,” he said.

“A wonderful punctuation to the end of a long career. A nice little validation from God.”

For Steve, who had spent decades flying under every possible condition, that single image became the perfect metaphor for the end of his journey – it was calm, bright, and filled with meaning.

“I have friends who never got their last flight,” he said sadly.

“Some went out on medical leave and never had the chance to say goodbye. I had the privilege of finishing mine, healthy, grateful, and surrounded by people who cared. That rainbow was my sign that I had finished well.”

The perfect send-off on his last American Airlines flight

The video of the moment has since gone viral, striking a chord with aviation fans and passengers alike. And it’s easy to see why.

There is something universal about it, something that speaks to the idea of pride and gratitude after a lifetime of working hard at something you love.

Scheibner said it was hard to put into words how much it meant to him:

“It was beautiful, and I will never forget it.”

For a man who spent more than three decades above the clouds, it was only fitting that his old friend, the sky itself, gave him the perfect goodbye.

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