FORT MYERS, Fla. – A passenger landed a twin-engine plane in Florida after the pilot died in flight with a total of six people on board. Federal Aviation Administration officials say the pilot died after takeoff from an airport in Naples on Sunday. It was on autopilot and climbing toward 10,000 feet when the pilot died. The passenger who took over is licensed for single-engine planes but isn't certified to fly the larger King Air craft. An air traffic controller helped the passenger down by calling a friend in Connecticut who knows the King Air plane and relaying instructions. The plane landed safely at Southwest Florida International Airport in Fort Myers. Original article yahoo.com http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/passenger_lands_plane
Crazy luck there, what are the chances that someone had any flight training experience. Looks like MS Flight Sim paid off for somebody.
Wow.. thats a lucky day... worst ive had in a plane is had to turn around because someting went wrong with hydraulics.. but at least we could still land.. but then it was done and had to be towed
that would be an interesting flight to be on for sure. you never know when it could be your last so live it to the fullest
Scary stuff! The King Air is not only larger, it's a twin turboprop (two jet engines). This guy is licensed for single-engine planes, which typically have piston engines.
Its really thrilling to read this news. And I think only God must have saved those six people in the form of the passenger who knows to fly. Paul
I've always wondered if I could pull this off... I mean, I learned to drive on my own, learned to ride a bike on my own, learned to drive a 6 speed on my own, learned to ride a street bike on my own... Flying is MUCH different, but the basics are there, and I think if I kept calm and had a few minutes to play with buttons and hop on Google, I could pull it off
Download the free Microsoft Flight Simulator demo or the X-Plane demo and find out! The full version of MSFX even has a King Air, the same plane the guy landed. I know these sims are no substitute for real training, not even close, but they do show what's involved.