https://www.wsj.com/articles/untrained-passenger-lands-airplane-11652285057?mod=opinion_lead_pos11
Whenever disaster strikes and life’s great challenges arise, we all hope to be ready to rise to the occasion. But it seems unreasonable even to hope for the achievement of a rookie aviator on Tuesday.
WPBF, an ABC television affiliate in Florida, is covering perhaps the most inspiring story of the year. The station’s Ari Hait reports from West Palm Beach:
A passenger with no flight experience safely landed a private plane at Palm Beach International Airport Tuesday afternoon after the pilot suffered a medical emergency.
“I’ve got a serious situation here,” the passenger can be heard telling Air Traffic Control in Fort Pierce. “My pilot has gone incoherent. I have no idea how to fly the airplane.”
“Roger. What’s your position?” Air Traffic Control responded.
“I have no idea,” the passenger said. “I can see the coast of Florida in front of me. And I have no idea.”
“Maintain wings level and just try to follow the coast, either north or southbound,” Air Traffic Control told him. “We’re trying to locate you.”