TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — A Delta Air Lines pilot on a flight from Tampa to Boston helped give a 12-year-old boy with spina bifida a special day.

The boy, Easton, and his mother, were on the plane waiting for his wheelchair when the pilot started a conversation. Easton shared with the pilot his passion for planes.

The crew gave the boy and his mom a tour of the plane and made sure his wheelchair would fit inside the Boeing 737’s flight deck, the airline said in a Facebook post.

“The joy that this simple act brought to this kid brought me to tears as I was walking off the plane…I thought — he was just like me when I was a kid — a total plane nerd,” Captain Alex wrote in a note to his leaders. “I’d like to see if through you and Delta, I could write a letter to his mom and offer my mentorship to Easton. I know there is so much opportunity available to him in the world of aviation, including running this airline, and I would like to help give him the inspiration and guidance to do so if he would like that.”

Chief Pilots Phil and Stephen read the captain’s note, and came up with a plan to bring Easton and his mother to Atlanta — the airline’s headquarters — for a day-long tour of its facilities.

Easton got to visit Delta TechOps and the Operations Control Center, the airline said. He even got to take the Captain’s Seat in a Boeing 737 simulator with Captain Alex and others mentoring him.

“One stranger saw a light in my child’s eyes and believed in him,” Easton’s mom said in a statement via the airline. “He and his company not only encouraged Easton, but they invested in him. They impacted him more in one day than you could imagine.”

The airline thanked its employees for caring for the next generation.

“Wishing Easton and all the other young AVGeeks out there clear skies and tailwinds,” the airline said.