After the pilot had a medical problem in the air, a passenger with no prior aviation training took control and landed the plane at Palm Beach International Airport. An audio tape obtained by CNN depicts the anxious moment when the passenger calls air traffic control for help landing the single-engine Cessna while keeping amazingly calm throughout. “I’m in a dangerous scenario.” “My pilot has gone insane, and I have no clue how to control the jet,” the passenger, who was flying above the Florida coast at the time, explained.
The call was answered by Robert Morgan, an experienced air traffic controller and flight instructor, who asked for the plane’s location. “I have no notion,” said the plane’s current pilot. Morgan was able to retrieve a picture of the Cessna’s controls and, using his knowledge as an instructor, began offering instructions on how to gently drop the plane into Palm Beach International Airport in Florida.
The passenger was able to bring the jet down to a gentle landing at the airport without even turning on the navigation screen. The tower operator notified a neighboring pilot waiting to take off, “You just observed a couple of passengers land that plane.” The captain answered, “Did you say the passengers landed the plane?”
“Oh, my God. Excellent work.” According to recordings from LiveATC.net, the passenger aboard his single-engine Cessna 208 told air traffic controllers that the pilot had “gone incoherent.” He emphasized that it was a “severe matter.” When the call came in from the jet departing from the Bahamas, Air Traffic Controller Robert Morgan, a trained flying instructor, was on a break.
“‘Hey, this pilot’s disabled,’ they say as I run over and step into the room, which is really busy. The plane is being piloted by the passengers. “They’ve never flown before,” Morgan said on CNN’s “New Day.” “This coming Wednesday “‘Oh boy,’ I said.” Morgan discovered that the caller had never flown a plane but had been around aviation and had seen other pilots fly. Morgan described him as “very peaceful.” “‘I don’t know how to fly,’ he said. If I do get on the runway, I’m not sure how to stop it.'”
Morgan has never flown a Cessna of this sort before. He drew out a diagram of the instrument panel’s arrangement and began walking his new learner through each step. “Try to keep your wings level and see if you can descend for me. Push the controls ahead and descend at a modest pace “In LiveATC audio, the air traffic controller can be heard advising the inexperienced pilot.
“Either north or south, try to follow the coast. We’re attempting to track you down.” Morgan made the critical choice to direct the plane to the area’s busiest airport, assisting the passenger-turned-pilot in positioning his plane 8 miles from Palm Beach International Airport “simply so he could have a pretty huge target to shoot at.” According to footage acquired by CNN affiliate WPBF, they worked together to get the Cessna to land on the runway, which takes around 20 hours to master with traditional flying training.
