Hometown hero honored with 9G F-16 ride

DULUTH - Preparing to get inside a fighter jet, Scott Kleive of the Duluth fire department is about to become an honorary U.S. Air Force Thunderbird.

"I'm a little nervous but I think I'll do alright,” Kleive said.

The pilots say they gave him the chance to fly with the group after hearing about his heroism from earlier this year from his co-workers.

"It was a woman trapped in a second story bedroom,” Kleive said.

"Scott climbed a neighbor's ladder that was somewhat broken, climbed up to her, pulled her out of the window by himself and pulled her onto the porch-roof,” Training Chief at the Duluth Fire Department Charlie Smith said.

The Thunderbirds say the "Hometown Heroes" program highlights the accomplishments of people like Kleive and puts them in the cockpits of F–16s.

"[It’s] a salute to the Americans that embody the same values as the air force which are: integrity, service before self, and excellence in all we do,” Thunderbirds Captain Aaron Jelinek.

As he took to the skies his kids say they were jealous but his firefighter co–workers say they felt pride.

"Scott put himself in great personal risk, more than we normally assume doing our job to accomplish what he did,” Smith said.

During the flight, he experienced up to 9 Gs of force doing flips and turns. Kleive says it was an emotional day both on and off the ground.

"I'm just honored. It's just the awesome opportunity of a lifetime,” Kleive said.

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