KC-135 pilot Benjamin Canetti Gets Massive Sendoff

Attendees at the Bills-Patriots game on December 31st watched a USAF KC-135 pilot's final military flight durings the game, roaring overhead as he capped off more than 3 decades with the service.

Benjamin Canetti flew one of the 91st ARW's KC-135 tankers above 70,000 football fans ahead of the showdown between the Buffalo Bills and New England Patriots. The current Delta pilot found that it got to be a little much, juggling two disparate careers with a pair of teenagers at home. So he decided it was time to ride off into the sunset for Uncle Sam, setting a December 31st retirement date. As luck would have it, Canetti's unit got the flyover job once again, just in time for one last ride.

"I watched the flyovers as a kid. They're always super exciting. And I never imagined that someday I'd be doing it myself," he shared. "It was just incredible to do those flyovers for the Bills. And then every time you go through the back of your head is that I used to be that kid down the stands watching."

"Some of the guys I asked to have fly on this flight with me are some of my best friends, so they want to be there and share it with me," Canetti added. "The support that the people in Buffalo give the Air Force Base and all the military here isn't like it is throughout many parts of the country, which is why most of us stay here. The intertwining with the community, our favorite sports teams, and the military is not like it is in most cities."

"It's gonna be super emotional, it's a lot of memories." I'm just very grateful that I got to spend most of my career here where I grew up," Canetti finished.

FMI: www.buffalobills.com