A passenger with no flying experience has made an emergency plane landing in Florida after the pilot experienced a medical episode
The flight that departed the Bahamas in what should have been a short journey to the Treasure Coast, took an unusual turn after the pilot became incapacitated.
“My pilot has [become] incoherent. I have no idea how to fly the airplane,”
The passenger said to flight control.
The passenger was then forced to make a bumpy emergency landing at Palm Beach International Airport.
This is brand new video (courtesy of Jeff Chandler) of a passenger landing a plane today at PBIA.
— Ari Hait (@wpbf_ari) May 11, 2022
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
Flight logs show that the plane began to deviate from its route just over 100 kilometers out from its original destination.
In an emergency call from the air, the passenger struggled to describe his whereabouts to traffic control.
“I have no idea. I can see the coast of Florida in front of me, and I have no idea,”
the passenger said.
The aircraft that was heading north over Boca Raton was eventually located and with the help of multiple air traffic controllers, guided to safety.
“Maintain wings level and try to follow the coast, either north or southbound,”
said one of the controllers.
The passenger is yet to be identified and the condition of the pilot remains unknown.
Samantha Hogan contributed to this article.
