Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) was on a US Airways flight Wednesday morning from Washington Dulles International Airport to Phoenix.

The plane was delayed on the runway for almost an hour (Quelle horreur. We are being serious. The worst.) because of some issue that didn’t result in a fiery crash.

(Important: Federal Aviation Administration furloughs scare us so much because of falling out of the sky. The fear is real.)

Our tipster didn’t know the former GOP presidential candidate was on the plane, but when it touched down, the flight attendant came on the intercom to say, “On board with us today, I’m sure you saw, Mr. John McCain.”

(Um, that’s Sen. John McCain, ma’am.)

“I want to thank him for his service to our country,” she said. “Please join me in thanking him.”

And, in our tipster’s judgement, about three-fourths of the plane burst into applause.

Our spy couldn’t see whether the Senator was in the first-class cabin.

One thing’s for sure: Wherever he is, he has a stack of books with him because he is apparently a big reader.

The Senator even tweeted a recess reading list earlier this week.

Christina Bellantoni contributed to this report.