In 2001, Capt. Steve Scheibner was an American Airlines first officer based out of Boston. On September 10 of that year, while serving reserve duty for his airline, he put his name in for the next morning’s American Airlines Flight 11 from Boston's Logan International Airport to LAX.
He was so sure he'd picked up the route that packed his bag and waited for the confirmation of his assignment.
“I waited for the phone call, and the phone never rang, which is not completely unusual,” Scheibner recalled. “It’s not the norm, but it’s not completely out of the question either. In fact, I didn’t even think about it for a while.”
The confirmation never came because, at the last minute, a more senior pilot, Capt. Tom McGuinness, took the flight instead. //
Scheibner has spoken many times in the years since – way before he had a YouTube channel – about what it was like to realize how close he had come to being part of the 9/11 attack.
“Why does God take one and leave another?" he asked. "It’s not because I’m a better person or God wanted to do more with me than he wanted to with Tom. I think in God’s providence, that’s obviously His choice."
In the 25 years since 9/11, Capt. Steve has lived with renewed purpose. “I need to act like I’m living on borrowed time because I am. I can look and see my smoking hole. And it was on national TV,” he said.
“There’s an obligation that comes with that. I’ve got to live my days with a sense of urgency. I have to make sure I get the most out of them. And not the most for me. We live in a world where everybody’s out to kind of get the most for them.”
Captain Steeeve
