How a passenger plane landed after losing the pilot

A passenger in the United States was able to land a single-engine plane with the help of radio instructions from a flight controller after the pilot collapsed during the flight. The accident occurred on Tuesday afternoon (5/10) in Palm Beach, Florida (USA).

In the cockpit recordings, the man can be heard telling the airport tower that he “has no idea how to stop the plane.”

“I have a dangerous situation here. My pilot is not fit,” the man said over the radio as the plane was flying at 2,750 metres. “Leave.”

When asked about his position, he replied: “I have no idea.” He said he could see the Florida coast in front of him.

“Keep your wings straight and try to follow the coast either north or south,” the air traffic controller said. “We’re trying to locate you.”

“I can’t even turn on the navigation screen,” said the man. “She has all the information there. Do you have any idea about that? I have no idea how to stop the plane. I don’t know how to do anything.”

Robert Morgan, an air traffic controller who serves as a flight professor, helped the man land at Palm Beach International Airport.

Even experienced, Morgan never raced this model? Single engine Cessna 208? But he was able to use a map of the cabin to give the pilot instructions.

“I knew the plane was flying like any other plane. I knew I had to keep it [o passageiro] Calm down, direct the way to the runway and teach him how to reduce the power so he can land,” Morgan told local television network WPBF-TV.

In the audio recording, Morgan teaches the man to “move the controls and descend at a very slow speed” as he approaches for landing.

“Before I knew it, he said, ‘I’m down to earth,'” Morgan says. How do I turn this thing off? “

The passenger and Morgan met on the runway, where they hugged and posed for a photo. But amid the euphoria, Morgan did not hear the man’s name, a WPBF reporter told BBC News.

The name is also not recorded in the radio sound.

“I felt like I was going to cry, because the adrenaline was full of adrenaline,” Morgan told CNN. “It was an emotional moment. He said he just wanted to go home to find his pregnant wife…and that made me feel better.”

“For me, he was the hero,” he continued. “I was just doing my job.”

After the plane landed, Morgan praised the passenger and spoke to other pilots on the runway.

“I just saw a passenger landing on that plane,” he told another pilot, who was waiting to take off.

“Did you say the passengers landed?” The pilot replied. “Oh my God. Great job.”

The Federal Aviation Administration said the plane was registered at a private address in Connecticut.

The plane had taken off about an hour before March Harbor took off in the Bahamas, according to FlightAware flight tracker.

The pilot was taken to hospital. The name and condition of the pilot were not disclosed.