Passenger with no experience lands plane after pilot incapacitated

[Tanuki]

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/may/11/passenger-lands-plane-florida-pilot-incapacitated

"A passenger without any flying experience safely landed a plane at a Florida airport after the pilot became incapacitated.
.....
In a statement, the FAA said two passengers were onboard the single-engine Cessna 208 when the pilot had a “possible medical issue”.
One passenger steered the private plane smoothly into Palm Beach international airport.

According to LiveATC.net audio, the passenger told air traffic control: “I’ve got a serious situation here. My pilot has gone incoherent and I have no idea how to fly the airplane.”
......

The air traffic controller proceeded to guide the passenger through the descent, saying: “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.”
In video obtained by CNN, the plane can be seen landing slowly and smoothly.”...(more)

[malaise]

1. Get thee to the greatest page for good .news

Sweet

[blm]

2. Wow

[Johnny2X2X]

3. Wow

I've been in small planes like this with just the pilot and me. Landing is arrowing even as a passenger. It just seems like the airport is so tiny and far away when you're close to the ground. Getting the glide slope right takes Know how. But having someone on the radio helping had to make the difference.

[CurtEastPoint]

4. I'll bet this is what it looked like inside the cockpit

[Tommy Carcetti]

8. The cockpit? What is it?

[oregonjen]

5. Wow! CNN video is amazing.

https://edition.cnn.com/travel/article/florida-passenger-lands-plane/index.html

No word on the pilot. I hope they’re doing okay.

[hlthe2b]

6. I think I could keep it together with someone like that helping me, but once I'd hit the ground

I'm pretty sure that vasovagal reflex would have left me flat (fainted) on the pavement. Hopefully, not before I got to hug that heroic traffic controller.

That guy (and his first-time student) are terrific.

[Tommy Carcetti]

7. I hear he had a drinking problem.

[msfiddlestix]

9. I'm skeptical the passenger had "no experience"..

in any literal sense. He/she likely had some experience possibly as a student pilot at the min.

maybe we needed to create a new hero. ???

[Tanuki]

10. I'm curious why you think it's likely he had some experience,

when the story states otherwise and most people do not in fact have any such experience.

[msfiddlestix]

13. Reports are often sensationalized i.e. click bait

of course most people do not have piloting experience.

However passengers who tend to fly as passengers on a Cessna, also end to be familiar to varying degrees how piloting a small plane is done. They tend to know something about how the plane operates in general, are familiar with control panels, are familiar with communicating with control towers etc etc etc. I'm suggesting it's likely the passenger might have had at least a few flying lessons.

[jmowreader]

15. This isn't a piston engine Cessna

Caravans are Cessna’s baby cargo planes. They have 675-horsepower engines. I can thoroughly believe the passenger had no idea how to fly this thing.

[KS Toronado]

16. Yep, no pistons, it's a Turboprop

[48656c6c6f20]

21. Yeah maybe they played a video game

Ah jeez.









DOH!

[twodogsbarking]

23. When he was a child he had one of those balsa wood planes with the rubber band and a propeller.

Double jeez.

[obamanut2012]

11. Not too far from me!

[hamsterjill]

12. Damn!!!

Nerves of steel!

[ForgedCrank]

14. There is ATC audio posted on VASAviation

[wnylib]

18. So he had some familiarity with

flight terminology, the control panel, and how to read and operate it, although he had never actually piloted a plane himself.

Amazing accomplishment.

Most people would not have had even the knowledge that this passenger had. I could never have followed those flight directions. I would not even have known how to contact the control tower.

[LeftInTX]

22. He probably flew frequently/enough

My dad was a pilot, but he was Air Force and then commercial. We rented a plane once. He showed me a few controls. My hunch is if my dad took me up frequently, I would probably would have figured some of this out.

Generally if you're a passenger in a Cessna, it isn't your first time in the plane or similar type planes. Passengers sit close to controls unlike commercial flights. I wouldn't be surprised if he was friends with the pilot.

[wnylib]

25. That's what I am thinking.

If he was a passenger often enough and friends with the pilot, he would be familiar with the instrument panel, reading it, and using flight terminology.

But that is still a far cry from having actual experience.

[LeftInTX]

27. If it was me: "Breaker 1/9!" All I know is CB!

[wnylib]

29. I don't even know how to operate the

mic or whatever it is called. So I would not even be sure if a "breaker 19" message would be heard. I also would not know what to do to receive a response.

[Tommy Carcetti]

19. So wait...his pilot was a) incoherent and b) flying into Palm Beach. Hmm.

Did not know that Donald Trump knew how to fly.

[multigraincracker]

17. I went up in a glider with a guy one time.

Towed way up and just smoothly gliding around and the pilot asked if I wanted to take the stick. Sure I say, and in no time we were in big trouble. Scary stuff.
One tends to over steer.

[pandr32]

20. Wow!

That passenger remained calm and saved the day--along with the air traffic control people who helped. There isn't anything at the link about the pilot. I wonder what happened?

[Buns_of_Fire]

24. He done good. We can use a hero or two right about now. nt

[Wild blueberry]

26. Wow

Air traffic controller did a magnificent job, as did the passenger. Wow.

[Higherarky]

28. Wow

Indeed.