An unprecedented event occurred in the US on Tuesday, May 10. With the help of an air traffic controller, a passenger with no flying experience was able to land a Cessna 208 at a Florida airport after the pilot lost consciousness. Read today in USA.ONE magazine:
Airplane passenger makes successful landing with no piloting experience
He contacted air traffic controllers after the pilot became ill and "passed out& #34;.
In Florida, a man was able to land the plane following instructions from the ground jpg» />
A Cessna 208 light single-engine aircraft lost control while en route from the Bahamas to the United States. On board was the only passenger, Darren Harrison (pictured right), who was able to get in touch with air traffic controllers and report a "serious situation". In just 16 seconds, the plane descended from 3000 to 2000 meters above the ground after the pilot suddenly lost consciousness.
Certified flight instructor and air traffic controller Robert Morgan (pictured left) was on a break when the Cessna 208 entered alarm call. He immediately returned to his workplace, where he was informed that the pilot was incapacitated, and the ship was being operated by a passenger with no flight experience. Morgan found out that the man who was in touch had never piloted an aircraft, but had dealt with aviation and had seen other pilots do it.
According to the instructor, Darren was very calm and said he didn't know "how to stop that thing" in case he manages to get to the runway. Fort Pierce airfield controllers asked where he was, to which Harrison replied that he had no idea, but he saw the coast of Florida in front of him. They soon managed to locate the aircraft, and then an experienced instructor with 20 years of experience, Robert Morgan, who had not previously flown this Cessna model, took over.
He opened an image of the location of the aircraft dashboard and began instructing his student, who was unable to turn on the navigator screen with the necessary information. The Cessna has a dual control system that allows you to pilot the ship from the passenger seat, so Harrison had a chance to land unharmed. Mobile communication with him was also maintained by the dispatchers of the international airport Palm Beach International.
"Try to keep the plane's wings level and head south or north along the coast. See if you can start descending. Push the controls forward and slowly descend," Robert said to Darren.
Morgan made the decision to fly the plane to Florida's largest airport so that the passenger would have a "really large target area". According to the controller, he needed to keep Harrison calm by directing him to the runway and explain how to release the throttle in order to descend and go to the landing. It usually takes 20 hours of practice, but Darren only had one try and a limited amount of time.
Video footage showed the Cessna 208 making a smooth landing. Even before the instructor realized that they had succeeded, Harrison informed him that he had landed and asked, "how to turn off this thing". According to Morgan, the landing was 10 out of 10. When the passenger got off the plane, he hugged his teacher tightly and said that he wanted to return home to his pregnant wife as soon as possible.
"I was very happy with him help. It seemed to me that I was about to cry — so much adrenaline I had accumulated. Thank God, everything worked out and no one was hurt," — Robert Morgan shared his emotions.
The unconscious pilot was hospitalized. It is not yet known why he became ill in the air. The other pilots were shocked to learn of what had happened. Over the airwaves, the tower operator could be heard telling an American Airlines pilot waiting for a flight to Charlotte that an ordinary passenger had just landed the plane. He could not believe his ears and asked again, admiring the newly minted "pilot":
"Oh my God! Great job!"
Morgan said meeting Darren was a very emotional moment. The men thanked each other. In Robert's eyes, it was Harrison who became the hero, and he was just doing his job.
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