Passenger who has "no idea" lands plane after pilot falls ill

Geoffrey Thomas

By Geoffrey Thomas Tue May 10, 2022

An air traffic controller in the USA has successfully guided a passenger on a private plane to land safely at Palm Beach International Airport in Florida after the pilot was incoherent during the flight Tuesday. According to wpbf.com , citing the FAA, the incident happened at about 12:30 p.m. with a single-engine plane, believed to be a Cessna Caravan.
There were just two people on board at the time of the landing and one -the pilot - was taken to a hospital, according to Palm Beach County Fire Rescue.
"I've got a serious situation here," the passenger said to traffic control from the cockpit. "My pilot's gone incoherent. I have no idea how to fly the airplane..." When asked where the plane was, the passenger responded, "I have no idea. I can see the coast of Florida in front of me and I have no idea." READ: Virgin Australia's innovative business FF program The Cessna Caravan was on a flight from Marsh Harbor in the Bahamas to Fort Pierce in Florida.
About one hour into the flight the pilot apparently fell ill and the passenger took over with the help of air traffic control and the plane was diverted to West Palm Beach. Here is the flight path. SEE the podcast: Flight Safety Detectives dissect the Netflix doco “Downfall”. READ: Boeing will bounce back says world’s largest leasing company
READ: How the Airbus A350 went from defeat to victory READ: Can the giant AN-225 fly again? According to wpbf.com "the air traffic controller then continues to tell the passenger how to push forward on the controls, descend to 5,000 feet and level off as air traffic control tried to find the plane, according to audio of the incident." The air traffic controller said; "We're gonna try to find you here on the radar." The controller finds the plane and then talks the passenger down to an almost perfect landing below.
https://twitter.com/i/status/1524115625144168450  

Have questions or want to share your thoughts?

Comments

No comments yet, be the first to write one.

Latest news and reviews

View more
How Etihad Wellbeing helps frequent flyers arrive refreshed
Airline News

How Etihad Wellbeing helps frequent flyers arrive refreshed

Sep 10, 2026

Sharon Petersen
Miami Prime Air crash: Its service history spans three continents and seven operators, could this be a factor?
Airline News

Miami Prime Air crash: Its service history spans three continents and seven operators, could this be a factor?

Sep 8, 2026

Airline Ratings
Cathay Pacific vs British Airways: which airline wins Hong Kong to London?
Airline News

Cathay Pacific vs British Airways: which airline wins Hong Kong to London?

Sep 8, 2026

Sharon Petersen
The biggest competitor to Qantas domestic business class? Qantas itself.
Airline News

The biggest competitor to Qantas domestic business class? Qantas itself.

Sep 3, 2026

Sharon Petersen

Featured articles

View more
The biggest competitor to Qantas domestic business class? Qantas itself.
Airline News

The biggest competitor to Qantas domestic business class? Qantas itself.

Sep 3, 2026

Sharon Petersen
Cathay Pacific vs British Airways: which airline wins Hong Kong to London?
Airline News

Cathay Pacific vs British Airways: which airline wins Hong Kong to London?

Sep 8, 2026

Sharon Petersen
The Boeing 737 MAX 7 is finally certified. The strange part? Almost nobody wants it.
Airline News

The Boeing 737 MAX 7 is finally certified. The strange part? Almost nobody wants it.

Aug 5, 2026

Josh Wood
Qatar Airways' Qsuite is the world's preferred business class
Airline News

Qatar Airways' Qsuite is the world's preferred business class

Aug 18, 2026

Airline Ratings