Passenger with no Flight Experience Lands Plane after Pilot Passed Out

A passenger aboard a flight from the Bahamas to Florida successfully landed the plane despite having no flight experience.

The passenger – who has not yet been named –  was on board a Cessna 208 Caravan traveling from Leonard M. Thompson International Airport in Marsh Harbor, the Bahamas, yesterday when the pilot suffered a medical emergency and fell unconscious.

The passenger quickly sprang into action and managed to successfully land the plane in a feat that one JetBlue pilot said was “nothing short of a miracle.”

He was aided by Robert Morgan, an air traffic controller, who printed out a picture of the cockpit controls to guide the passenger through the steps of flying and landing the plane as he struggled with the navigation system. 

After he successfully landed, Morgan told WBPF, the two embraced on the tarmac of the Palm Beach International Airport in Florida, where they were pictured.

“It felt really good to help somebody, and he told me that he was going to go home tonight to see his pregnant wife,” Morgan told the news station in the aftermath.

Morgan said he was on his break reading a book outside, when he received an emergency call that a passenger with no flight experience was trying to land a commercial flight safely.

He revealed that he has never actually flown a Cessna 208 Caravan plane before, but he is an FAA-certified flight instructor with around 1,200 hours of flying time under his belt.

Morgan said he quickly decided to print out a layout of the cockpit, which he used to guide the passenger through the steps of flying and landing the plane as he struggled with the navigation system.

“I just feel like it was probably meant to happen,” Morgan told the news station. “I knew the plane was flying like any other plane. I just had to keep him calm, point him to the runway and tell him how to reduce the power so he could descend to land.

“Before I knew it, he was like, ‘I’m on the ground. How do I turn this thing off?'”

The landing was a little wobbly, but ultimately safe and successful according to air traffic control, who were clearly astounded at the passenger’s ability to settle the plane on the runway with no prior experience whatsoever.

The pilot, who remained unconscious was later taken to the hospital as a result of the unknown illness. His condition remains unknown.

An aviation expert told CNN it is not uncommon for small turboprop airplanes such as the Cessna 208 Caravan to fly with only one pilot, particularly when the flights are private. 

An FAA spokesperson confirmed they were investigating the incident and said the pilot suffered a “possible medical issue” – though did not provide further details on his condition. 

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