Passenger lands Cessna 172 in darkness after Pilot dies
Oct 10, 2013 7:04:07 GMT -5
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Post by shred on Oct 10, 2013 7:04:07 GMT -5
A PASSENGER, who had never flown a plane before, landed an aircraft at Humberside after his pilot passed out at the controls and later died.
A flying expert from Waltham, Roy Murray, was called in to guide the man to safety as the drama unfolded last night.
Mr Murray, an instructor at The Frank Morgan Flying School, was at home when he received the call. He rushed to the airport's control centre as a full emergency plan was put into place. Nearby roads were closed and police and the fire service were on standby as the airport was closed to incoming planes.
Mr Murray was told by air traffic control that the pilot had passed out and that the single passenger on the plane had no previous flying experience.
He told the Telegraph: "The passenger did really well, he had a dry mouth like everyone in the control centre. I tried to comfort him as much as possible and tried to ensure he stayed calm.
"We started in the radar room to guide him to the airport. It took him four or five attempts to land the plane, as we had to use different runways because of the failing light.
"The guy did a remarkable job. The plane bounced once on landing, but it was fantastic considering he had never flown before.
"In the cockpit there were no lights on the dials and everything was dark. He could not see the profile of the plane or read any of the dials."
Mr Murray has 35 years of flying experience and more than 10,000 hours of flight time, but he has only been involved in one similar drama before, and that was in daylight.
"It was a lot harder at night," he said.
he emergency started at around 6.20pm when the airport received the distress call from the light aircraft, which was being flown by the pilot with just his one passenger.
Paul Litten, commercial director of Humberside Airport, said: "We took the distress call just before the pilot went unconscious. We immediately called the emergency services and put into action our emergency plan."
Airport joint owner Bryan Huxford arrived to offer support as Mr Murray and a second instructor talked the passenger down. It is believed the plane had taken off from Sandtoft Airfield, near Doncaster, but it is not clear where it was travelling to.
The pilot and the brave passenger have not yet been named.
A Humberside Police spokesman said the pilot's post mortem is likely to take place tomorrow afternoon.
The passenger was uninjured in the incident and has since returned home.
www.thisisgrimsby.co.uk/Video-Expert-helps-passenger-land-plane/story-19907867-detail/story.html#axzz2hDDAuDs0
aviation-safety.net/wikibase/wiki.php?id=161331
A flying expert from Waltham, Roy Murray, was called in to guide the man to safety as the drama unfolded last night.
Mr Murray, an instructor at The Frank Morgan Flying School, was at home when he received the call. He rushed to the airport's control centre as a full emergency plan was put into place. Nearby roads were closed and police and the fire service were on standby as the airport was closed to incoming planes.
Mr Murray was told by air traffic control that the pilot had passed out and that the single passenger on the plane had no previous flying experience.
He told the Telegraph: "The passenger did really well, he had a dry mouth like everyone in the control centre. I tried to comfort him as much as possible and tried to ensure he stayed calm.
"We started in the radar room to guide him to the airport. It took him four or five attempts to land the plane, as we had to use different runways because of the failing light.
"The guy did a remarkable job. The plane bounced once on landing, but it was fantastic considering he had never flown before.
"In the cockpit there were no lights on the dials and everything was dark. He could not see the profile of the plane or read any of the dials."
Mr Murray has 35 years of flying experience and more than 10,000 hours of flight time, but he has only been involved in one similar drama before, and that was in daylight.
"It was a lot harder at night," he said.
he emergency started at around 6.20pm when the airport received the distress call from the light aircraft, which was being flown by the pilot with just his one passenger.
Paul Litten, commercial director of Humberside Airport, said: "We took the distress call just before the pilot went unconscious. We immediately called the emergency services and put into action our emergency plan."
Airport joint owner Bryan Huxford arrived to offer support as Mr Murray and a second instructor talked the passenger down. It is believed the plane had taken off from Sandtoft Airfield, near Doncaster, but it is not clear where it was travelling to.
The pilot and the brave passenger have not yet been named.
A Humberside Police spokesman said the pilot's post mortem is likely to take place tomorrow afternoon.
The passenger was uninjured in the incident and has since returned home.
www.thisisgrimsby.co.uk/Video-Expert-helps-passenger-land-plane/story-19907867-detail/story.html#axzz2hDDAuDs0
aviation-safety.net/wikibase/wiki.php?id=161331
Well done the passenger and well done Humberside airport.