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Passenger With No Flying Experience Safely Lands Aircraft After Pilot Becomes Unconscious

Achieng Mary | 1 year ago
Pilots in the cockpit
Pilots in the cockpit

A passenger with zero experience on how to fly a plane safely landed a Cessna 208 plane after the pilot had an apparent medical emergency that made him unresponsive on Tuesday afternoon, May 10.

In an audio clip shared by CNN, the unidentified passenger was heard saying he had no idea how to fly a plane.

"I've got a serious situation here, My pilot has gone incoherent, and I have no idea how to fly the airplane," he stated.

As the situation unfolded, the unidentified passenger got assistance from an air traffic controller who provided instructions on how the plane can be landed safely.

"Try to hold the wings level and see if you can start descending for me. Push forward on the controls and descend at a very slow rate, 

"Try to follow the coast either north or southbound. Were trying to locate you," the air traffic controller instructed.

The passenger radioed back four minutes later asking the air traffic controller if he had managed to locate him explaining that he was unable to get his navigation screen on.

The officials eventually located him off the coast as they guided him to a safe landing at Palm Beach International Airport.

At the time of the incident, only the pilot and passenger were on board the plane.

The situation has elicited reactions from the aviation industry with experts commending the passenger for the job well done despite having zero experience in aviation.

"The person on the Airplane who had no aeronautical experience listened very carefully and obviously followed instructions with great calm, that's what made the difference," John Nance, an aviation expert told CNN.






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