5-year-old rewarded by airline after spotting mistake in pilot training

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A five-year-old boy got to visit Southwest Airlines’ headquarters because he noticed a mistake in the pilot training manual. It’s true!

Many children dream of becoming pilots, imagining themselves flying airplanes – whether it’s commercial airliners full of passengers or powerful military jets. However, very few actually achieve this dream, largely because the necessary flight training is so expensive.

Five-year-old William Hines loves airplanes so much that he recently became an internet sensation after finding an error in a Southwest Airlines training guide.

A five-year-old boy had a special encounter with a Southwest Airlines pilot. His mother, Amber Hines, shared that they chatted for two hours, and during that time, the boy noticed something was wrong.

Youngster given tour of Southwest HQ over mistake

The young person told Next9 News they noticed a problem with two terrain monitors. They didn’t display the same information, and one seemed to be zoomed in more than the other – even though they should have shown the exact same view.

William’s mom explained that a friend, who works at Southwest Airlines, shared the news with their manager. This eventually led to the airline’s CEO offering William a reward.

Amber and her family received a special VIP tour of Southwest Airlines’ headquarters in Dallas, Texas. She said it was a fantastic experience, and her son even had the chance to practice flying a simulator with a Southwest pilot.

“It’s so much better than walking 7,000 miles!” exclaimed the five-year-old in an interview with FOX 8. He added that he hopes to help people travel someday.

Honestly, my experience wasn’t great. It was kinda like being one of those Lufthansa passengers stuck on a plane overnight in Munich when the airport shut down – just a really frustrating waste of time.

There wasn’t much food available, and passengers weren’t allowed off the plane until the next morning.

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2026-02-25 14:48