On Tuesday afternoon, a short one-hour flight from the Bahamas to Florida in America took a dangerous turn when the pilot lost consciousness in the middle of the flight.
As reported by BBC, the pilot of Cessna 208, a utility plane that can seat 14 people, told the two passengers on board that he was not feeling well. Soon, the pilot lost consciousness. Fortunately, a passenger named Darren Harrison took control of the plane and immediately reached out to the air traffic control for help.
In the footage and audio recording accessed by WPBF-TV, the passenger can be heard telling the air traffic control, “I’ve got a serious situation here. My pilot has gone incoherent. I have no idea how to fly the airplane.”
🛬 “I’ve got a serious situation here,” the passenger said from the cockpit. “My pilot’s gone incoherent. I have no idea how to fly the airplane…” Watch the landing at PBIA after the traffic controller then guided the passenger to a safety. https://t.co/gLxS88axix pic.twitter.com/Y2UA6QQC4e
— WPBF 25 News (@WPBF25News) May 10, 2022
When the air traffic controller Robert Morgan asked him about his position, Harrison said, “I have no idea. I can see the coast of Florida in front of me. And I have no idea.”
I can barely land a plane on GTA and this guy’s landing a real one
— Gary Drury (@BeingAYid87) May 12, 2022
That was a landing an experienced pilot would be happy with. Good job to the passenger and the controllers who helped him get down safely.
— Crim (@Crim_Mip) May 11, 2022
Well said. I was shaking just hearing the story.
— ladierose4real (@ladierose1021) May 12, 2022
Wow. I can’t think of anything more frightening 😱 Well done to the passengers and air traffic control 👍
— Miss Genie (@MissIgraine) May 11, 2022
Kudos to the traffic controller! Talking someone through all that remotely is no small task, I’m sure.
— Jasper ‘Lope – Enough is Enough (@Jasperlope) May 10, 2022
That was an impressive landing, great job!
— Liberty & Justice for All (@NotSoProudYank) May 11, 2022
Perfect. Automatic license for that performance. 🏆
— Filthy Carbon Unit (@DerekDarkly) May 11, 2022
Congratulations to the ATC and the very calm passenger who landed the plane at Palm Beach International Airport! Great job!🛩️
— Deana Martin (@DeanaMartin_) May 11, 2022
This is an incredible story!
— snoddy (@snodvision) May 11, 2022
Next, Morgan, who also trains aspiring pilots, guided Harrison to keep the plane afloat and guided him to slowly land at the Palm Beach International Airport. Despite not flying a plane before, Harrison stayed calm and successfully landed the plane by following Morgan’s instructions.
After the landing, the pilot was taken to the hospital. It is unclear what caused him to loose consiousness. After the safe landing, Harrison and Morgan met at the airport.
While speaking to WPBF-TV, Morrison 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”.
