“A plane passenger with no flying experience safely landed a Cessna light aircraft with the help of an air traffic controller after the pilot suffered a medical emergency and fell unconscious.
……
The unnamed passenger, who was heading home to see his pregnant wife, was flying in a Cessna 208 Caravan which took off from Leonard M. Thompson International Airport in Marsh Harbor, the Bahamas, and was headed to Florida on Tuesday afternoon when the drama began.

'I've got a serious situation here,' the passenger can be heard telling air traffic control in Fort Pierce, while flying over the Florida coastline around 70 miles north of his destination.

'My pilot has gone incoherent. I have no idea how to fly the airplane.'” …

https://mol.im/a/10804051

I have heard that, despite being a common movie plot, this has never actually happened on a commercial flight.

I wonder how many times it has happened in general aviation.

Looks like he greased the landing. While I hope the original pilot is ok, this dude has a story to tell his grandkids like. "Let me tell you about my first solo."

Must be difficult to keep those huge steel balls from bouncing on the runway!

Luckily, a 208 is probably much easier to fly than say, a 737.

Not sure if the 208 has assisted controls, but I recall being in a 182RG & finding the yoke very heavy, compared to the 150/152 I was accustomed to flying.
If not, that would take some muscling, as that's a decent sized bird, over the 182.

I remember a Mythbusters episode where they tested this concept.
Put them both in a simulator in a 737 in flight, and had them proceed to crash attempting to land without any guidance/assistance.
2nd round, they had 'ATC' guidance on what to do/set & they both got the plane landed.

That couldn’t have turned out any better, given the circumstance.

Luckily, a 208 is probably much easier to fly than say, a 737.

Not sure if the 208 has assisted controls, but I recall being in a 182RG & finding the yoke very heavy, compared to the 150/152 I was accustomed to flying.
If not, that would take some muscling, as that's a decent sized bird, over the 182.

I remember a Mythbusters episode where they tested this concept.
Put them both in a simulator in a 737 in flight, and had them proceed to crash attempting to land without any guidance/assistance.
2nd round, they had 'ATC' guidance on what to do/set & they both got the plane landed.

quote:

Originally posted by maladat:
I have heard that, despite being a common movie plot, this has never actually happened on a commercial flight.

I wonder how many times it has happened in general aviation.

When my wife & I were dating, she'd always ask, when we flew anywhere "Could you fly this plane?"

With a shrug, I told her, 'Probably' (26 hours PIC & a fair bit of solo time) and reiterated the above, that it's never happened in US commercial aviation, to my knowledge.

Here is the full ATC audio.

That is a scary situation. Glad to hear he did what he had to in the moment of need.

Saw that in the news. Great to hear the happy results.

Wow!! Great job and really glad everyone and all equipment is safe! I'm not trying to bring politics into the thread, but with the number of adverse reactions to the clot shots, I just wonder if the pilot had gotten the shot(s) and this was a reaction to it/them. It's a serious question. On another note, did I not see where the person landing the plane is/was a Certified Flight Instructor??? Soooooooooo........[puzzled look on face].

As for someone landing a B-whatever..... If...IF...both pilots had the fish, I'm gonna go out on a limb and say the odds of a Commercial Pilot NOT being on a 737 riding along on just about every flight is probably minuscule...ESPECIALLY here domestically. I'm sure there is someone deadheading or simply commuting/non-revving to/from work every day of the week and twice on Sunday in the U.S. system. JMHO...

ETA:
Oh...nevermind. It is the Air Traffic Controller (Morgan) who is the CFI. OK...makes sense now.

quote:

Originally posted by erj_pilot:
Wow!! Great job and really glad everyone and all equipment is safe!

Ditto!

quote:

On another note, did I not see where the person landing the plane is/was a Certified Flight Instructor??? Soooooooooo........[puzzled look on face].

You caught this one in your nevermind.

I have to say the passenger radio comms were confusing. The 10-4 stuff didn't sound pilot like at all, but the "passing xxxx" etc sure did. The passenger may not have had any flying certification, but he at least sounded like he'd been around flying and paid attention.

While I'm not a pilot, my Dad was and I've flown R/C for 30+ years.

I've had friends let me fly their planes, but not take off or land.

Having said that, I'm absolutely positive I could land a small plane safely.

quote:

Originally posted by Flash-LB:
While I'm not a pilot, my Dad was and I've flown R/C for 30+ years.

I've had friends let me fly their planes, but not take off or land.

Having said that, I'm absolutely positive I could land a small plane safely.

Generally, it's easier than it looks.
It's when things don't go as planned that the training really comes in handy.

quote:

Originally posted by erj_pilot:
Wow!! Great job and really glad everyone and all equipment is safe! I'm not trying to bring politics into the thread, but with the number of adverse reactions to the clot shots, I just wonder if the pilot had gotten the shot(s) and this was a reaction to it/them.
<snip>

Sigh.

I have flown out of Marsh Harbor to PBI dozens of times as a passenger. The runway ends in a marsh with 3 or 4 planes that landed in it. Ernie our pilot had his appendix rupture while flying his Cherokee 6 and got to his destination safely. Aliyah died coming out of Marsh Harbor, plane overweight.

quote:

Originally posted by Pipe Smoker:
Sigh.

Problem, Pipe Smoker???

It's a valid question. If you think there aren't issues with this shot and adverse reactions with pilots, then your head is up and locked up your ass. Being in the aviation industry, I am VERY concerned about the VAERS data that CONTINUES to pour in, and it is WAAAAAAAY understated. I know of pilots PERSONALLY at my particular airline that are unable to hold a medical certificate due to cardiac issues that surfaced after they took the shot.

If this is of no concern to you, then so be it. But don't even THINK about starting any shit with me on this topic as it relates to aviation, because I'll straight up tell you to shut your pipe-filled cake hole. After what I've endured since August, I'm nowhere NEAR being in the mood...

So...have anything else to add?

quote:

Originally posted by erj_pilot:

quote:

Originally posted by Pipe Smoker:
Sigh.

Problem, Pipe Smoker???

It's a valid question. If you think there aren't issues with this shot and adverse reactions with pilots, then your head is up and locked up your ass. Being in the aviation industry, I am VERY concerned about the VAERS data that CONTINUES to pour in, and it is WAAAAAAAY understated. If this is of no concern to you, then so be it. But don't even THINK about starting any shit with me on this topic as it relates to aviation, because I'll straight up tell you to shut your pipe-filled cake hole.

So...have anything else to add?

p.s. I know of pilots PERSONALLY at my particular airline that are unable to hold a medical certificate due to cardiac issues that surfaced after they took the shot.

My guess is that his sigh, is the same as mine. Here’s a thread about someone who landed a plane with no aviation experience. He lived to tell the tale. Pretty cool if I do say so myself.
In the case of this thread, who gives a flying fuck if the pilot was Covid vaccinated, or had Ebola. The pilot passed out and a common dude landed the plane.
Bringing politics and shit into apolitical threads is stupid. It causes shit like this.
Plus, you were pretty rude. You’re more intelligent and usually handle yourself with more class than that.

quote:

Originally posted by Beancooker:
You’re more intelligent and usually handle yourself with more class than that.

I appreciate that sentiment. I've just had enough of the tiptoeing and dancing around this issue.

OK...everyone, to include myself, wants to applaud the passenger. Hell yeah!! Lived to tell a GREAT story to his grandkids. From my perspective, though, this provokes some thinking into the next level of the story. Being a pilot, I'm concerned about.....THE PILOT. If one can't appreciate that given the industry in which I work, then I'm sorry it's lost on some. I'm out...

Or, perhaps, everyone is sick and tired of every single malady nowadays being attributed to "THE JAB!"