Passenger With NO Experience Lands Plane Safely After Pilot Fell Unconscious
A plane passenger with no flying experience safely landed a Cessna light aircraft with the help of an air traffic controller after the pilot suffered a medical emergency and fell unconscious.
The unnamed passenger was flying in the Cessna 208 Caravan from the Bahamas to Florida on Tuesday afternoon when the drama began.
‘I’ve got a serious situation here,’ the passenger can be heard telling air traffic control in Fort Pierce, while flying over the Florida coastline around 70 miles north of his destination.
‘My pilot has gone incoherent. I have no idea how to fly the airplane.’
Air traffic control replied: ‘Roger. What’s your position?’
The passenger said: ‘I have no idea. I can see the coast of Florida in front of me. And I have no idea.’
But somehow, with the help of air traffic control, the passenger remained incredibly calm and expertly brought the Cessna into land at Palm Peach International Airport, despite having never sat behind the controls of an aircraft before.
An aviation expert told CNN it is not uncommon for small turboprop airplanes such as the Cessna 208 Caravan to fly with only one pilot, particularly when the flights are private.
An FAA spokesperson confirmed they were investigating the incident and said the pilot suffered a ‘possible medical issue’ – though did not provide further details on his condition.
The audibly shocked air traffic controller in Fort Pierce told the passenger that he would try and locate the plane when the emergency call came through over his radio.
‘Maintain wings level and just try to follow the coast, either north or southbound,’ the controller said.
‘We’re trying to locate you.’
For the next four minutes, audio showed the passenger remained remarkably calm as he tried to work out what to do and wait for the air traffic controller to find his aircraft.
‘Have you guys located me yet?’ he asked after a while.
‘I can’t even get my nav screen to turn on. It has all the information on it. You guys have any ideas on that?’
The man was eventually found flying off the coast of Boca Raton, and air traffic control at Palm Beach airport managed to talk him down, guiding him how to land the plane.
A source told ABC News the controller working at Palm Beach was a certified flight instructor, with experience working with Cessna aircrafts.
The pilot. who remained unconscious was taken to the hospital as a result of the unknown illness. His condition remains unknown.
This is brand new video (courtesy of Jeff Chandler) of a passenger landing a plane today at PBIA.
His pilot had passed out, and the passenger with zero flight experience was forced to land the plane.
Team coverage of this amazing landing is on @WPBF25News at 11. pic.twitter.com/jFLIlTp6Zs
— Ari Hait (@wpbf_ari) May 11, 2022
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Interesting
Good job
Wow