Not reel but real! Pilot falls ill mid-air, passenger with ‘no idea how to fly’ lands plane safely

May 13: In a strange incident a passenger with no flying experience took charge of the cockpit, when the pilot of a small plane suddenly fell ill off Florida’s Atlantic coast, and was able to land the plane safely with the help of air traffic controllers.

On May 10, this incident occurred when the passenger with ‘no idea how to fly’ landed a plane at a Florida airport after the pilot became incapacitated due to a “medical emergency”. The passenger was able to land the plane safely with the help of air traffic controllers.

Passenger with no flying experience safely lands a Cessna 208 at Palm Beach Airport after pilot became incapacitated with a medical issue. https://t.co/aoMjfNNX1R pic.twitter.com/RcoKefNAul

— Breaking Aviation News & Videos (@aviationbrk) May 11, 2022

According to Flight Aware, the plane had taken off earlier Tuesday from Marsh Harbour International Airport in the Bahamas. The aircraft was occupied by the pilot and two passengers. Robert Morgan, an air traffic controller at Palm Beach International Airport, was on his break when a colleague came to alert him to the situation. “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,” Mr Morgan told WPBF-TV. He told the FAA the surreal experience was “like a movie”.

In the recording, Mr Morgan is heard teaching the man to “push forward on the controls and descend at a very slow rate” as he approaches for landing. After the plane landed, Mr Morgan can be heard in the recording praising the heroic passenger to other pilots on the tarmac. The brave passenger identified as Darren Harrison under Mr Morgan’s tutelage flew the plane into its final approach, successfully landing the aircraft at 16:37 local time. Neither passenger had any injuries.

All the desi fans can here recall the Dhamaal scene that makes you laugh till your stomach hurts, each time. It is one of the epic comedy scenes of all time. But in reality, this is a panic-like situation which is stressful even in imagination.