Watch: Pilot hangs out of cockpit window to retrieve flyer's phone

A pilot of a US-based airline has taken their "passengers first" moto to a whole new level when he was caught on camera, hanging out of the cockpit to retrieve a phone that one of his passengers accidentally left behind. The plane had already left the gate at the Long Beach Airport in California when the incident occurred.

"When our employees at Long Beach Airport noticed a customer's phone left behind in a gate area after a flight that was already boarded and pushed back from the gate, they didn't hesitate," Southwest Airlines tweeted with the now-viral video.

The eight-second clip shows the pilot dangling his torso outside the cockpit window reaching for the phone as a crew member tries to pass it to him.  After the first failed attempt, however, another crew member takes over and jumps even higher to reach the pilot's hand. Once successful, people can be heard cheering in the background.

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Twitter users were impressed with the airline's act of kindness.