In news that is sure to have you gripping your seat, a US passenger with “no idea how to fly” has been forced to land a Cessna 208 after the pilot became incoherent.
The pilot was flying Darren Harrison, 39, and another passenger to Florida from the Bahamas when he told them he wasn’t feeling well, according to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
With the small aircraft going into a nosedive, Darren called air traffic control, telling them: “I have no idea how to fly the airplane.”
Luckily, Robert Morgan, an air traffic controller at Palm Beach International Airport, was on a break when a colleague alerted him to the situation.
A flight instructor with more than 20 years’ experience in air traffic control, Robert had never flown the specific model, but was able to use a map of the aircraft’s cockpit to give instructions to Darren.
“He was really calm,” Robert said. “I knew the plane was flying like any other plane. I just knew I had to keep him calm, point him to the runway and tell him how to reduce the power so he could descend to land.”
After the plane successfully landed, the two men met on the tarmac for what was no doubt a very well-deserved hug.
