Passenger lands turboprop plane after pilot dies

[Matt Molnar]

Passenger lands turboprop plane after pilot dies
MIAMI, Florida (CNN) -- It's a nightmarish scenario straight out of the movies: A passenger is forced to land a plane after its pilot becomes incapacitated.
Passanger Doug White landed this Super King two-engine turboprop after the pilot fell unconscious.

Passanger Doug White landed this Super King two-engine turboprop after the pilot fell unconscious.

"Descend and maintain 5,000. Just take your time, we'll set you up for the airport," an air traffic controller says.

In a calm voice, a passenger responds: "I need to get my throttle set for this descent. I don't know where to set it at."

The reality was playing aboard a plane over Florida on Sunday in what the National Air Traffic Controllers Association called "an Easter miracle."

The incident began about 1:30 p.m. The plane, a Super King Air two-engine turboprop with four passengers on board, was headed to Jackson, Mississippi, from Marco Island, Florida, about 18 miles south of Naples.

The plane entered the jurisdiction of air traffic control at Miami Center, the facility responsible for high-altitude air traffic in southern Florida and the Caribbean, according to a statement issued by the air traffic controllers association.

The pilot notified controllers that the plane was at 9,000 feet and climbing, said Steve Wallace, Miami Center spokesman for the association. However, a controller at the center tried twice to raise the pilot after that and received no response, Wallace said. [Full Article with ATC Audio]

[cancidas]

heard about this earlier today, KUDOS to the pilot and the crew. would be nice of the feds to send the guy a multi-turbine endorsement for his logbook now...

[coachrowsey]

What a position to be in. This guy done a great job

[mmedford]

You know what I don't give him that much credit...

he does have flight time under his belt...

so really; same **** different toilet..IMO..

But Matt your right, someone needs to sign him off for ME time..lol

[AA 777]

You know what I don't give him that much credit...

he does have flight time under his belt...

so really; same **** different toilet..IMO..

But Matt your right, someone needs to sign him off for ME time..lol

Seriously? :roll: I think thats pretty absurd to even say. The pilot who took the controls was a Private pilot ASEL. He had about 130TT in a C172 - No multi engine rating or anything and now hes behind the wheel of a King Air. I'd say this pilot did a FANTASTIC job and really stepped up to the situation. He remained extremely calm given the situation and ATC did a fantastic job as well.

I dont know about the other pilots on this board, but when I had 130TT and just ASEL I would have been SO far behind the aircraft if I had to fly a King Air by myself and knew absolutely nothing about it. Sure its "just another airplane," but it got two engines (each with WAY more power than a C172), its HUGE compared to a 172 and its got systems that a C172 only dreams about....

I'm not trying to be a jerk, but I'd really reconsider the whole "I dont give him much credit, its the same s***, different day"

[mmedford]

Well I think I phrased things wrong...

But i'm on the MX side of things...

So, my respect for pilots isn't as high as you would like to think...

[USAF Pilot 07]

Nice! Kudos to that guy for an outstanding job!

[LGA777]

Matt, very well said. I read yesterday that the King Air actually has a landing speed probably faster than this gentleman ever flew a 172 at cruise. And keep in mind his 130 hours total time is over a period of 19 years, as he started flying in 1990, and with no instrument time at all. I would think that makes how he handled being under this pressure even more impressive. Plus he just buried his brother (the funeral was the purpose of the trip) and having his wife and kids lives in his hands, not just his own, incredible pressure me thinks.

I am also impressed the RSW approach controller called his friend in Conn, who had all that King Air experience, for expertise. Talk about thinking outside the box, and glad his friend was home.

Major Kudo's to all involved for another very successful outcome to what could have been a tragedy.

LGA777

[Futterman]

Real impressive story. While it's fair to say that "an airplane is an airplane is an airplane" with regards to the way anything with wings and a powerplant will fly, this guy made some exceptional calls.

Pilot training, whether it's 130 hours or 1,300, is not all about stick and rudder skills, so I'm not too surprised that the guy flew the airplane. But he did have enough experience to make safe judgments and decisions and stay ahead of the airplane which, like Matt said, really gets to be a challenge. I've forgotten to perform complete configuration flows or call for approach/landing checklists in the 'heat of battle' on occasion, so I can only imagine what it must be like to have to familiarize myself with an unfamiliar airplane and even think about landing it.

I have a feeling his instructor taught him the "Aviate, Navigate, Communicate" mantra.

AOPA has a fantastic article, as well as the ATC recordings on their website: http://www.aopa.org/aircraft/articles/2 ... tsave.html

By the looks of it, skies were relatively clear, which was a huge help. And he had 150 hours of recent flight experience since January towards his instrument rating.

As a student at Purdue, I've had the opportunity to fly our King Air fleet in the right seat for 5.2 hours this semester (200PU and 300PU). My first flight, back in January from LAF to YIP and back, was in IMC. As a ~385 hour instrument/multi-rated, commercial pilot and CFI, that first flight was a helluva ride. Even though my captain called all the shots, I hand flew the entire flight, including an ILS into Willow Run (we broke out 800' above minimums). Vectors through the clouds, power management, speed, configuration verification, listening to ATC...it was all a lot to handle for someone who had about 1 hour of actual instrument time and had previously flown nothing bigger than a Piper Seminole. So I like to feel that I can relate. While the flights that followed were a relative piece-of-cake, that first jaunt was the farthest departure I've ever had from the training mind-set I've been in for the past three years. And it was definitely a challenge to keep pace.

From my limited experience, the King Air is a completely different animal from the 172 and, really, any complex piston out there (as you would expect). This guy is suddenly facing landing gear, autopilots, constant speed propellers, turbine engines (torque and ITT versus manifold pressure or RPM). If he had to go around or suddenly add power, his habit of firewalling a Lycoming O-360 would just about melt the PT-6 on the King Air.

He did a great job of coordinating and verifying with the controller, and while I'm not in an utter state of shock and awe, I am extremely impressed.

But i'm on the MX side of things...

So, my respect for pilots isn't as high as you would like to think...

Perhaps, then, the only way to really gauge a pilot's skill is to put them in an airplane you've touched?

Brian

[PhilDernerJr]

But i'm on the MX side of things...

What planes do you work on?

[mmedford]

But i'm on the MX side of things...

What planes do you work on?

Avionics...i know the magic that happens inside the boxes...but no A&P so I can't sign off repairs done to the aircraft directly.

Perhaps, then, the only way to really gauge a pilot's skill is to put them in an airplane you've touched?

Well...now, I come to the realization that I do pretty good work, when it's CAT2/3 weather, and some how those big metal tubes find the runway...now is it the aircraft flying or the pilot...?

Only God & the FDR know...

[PhilDernerJr]

What does Franklin Delano have to do with this? (kidding)

[PhilDernerJr]

But i'm on the MX side of things...

What planes do you work on?

Avionics...i know the magic that happens inside the boxes...but no A&P so I can't sign off repairs done to the aircraft directly.

Perhaps, then, the only way to really gauge a pilot's skill is to put them in an airplane you've touched?

Well...now, I come to the realization that I do pretty good work, when it's CAT2/3 weather, and some how those big metal tubes find the runway...now is it the aircraft flying or the pilot...?

Please correct me if I'm wrong, but I thought you only worked on airfield electronics as an intern, no?

Everyone on this site is allowed to offer their thoughts, opinions, and guesses. Most of us are no pros in all aspects of aviation, and it's always great to learn and to get added perspective from others who are genuinely "in the know".

But to say you're "on the mx side of things" when you're not an aircraft mechanic, is misleading, and sounds as though you're posing as someone you're not, which can be very insulting to people on and off the site who ARE mechanics, A&P or not.

Not much a problem, but one should watch how they represent themselves in public to others.

[mmedford]

but I thought you only worked on airfield electronics as an intern, no?

Sometimes I wonder if I'm still that to them...the phrase above my paygrade comes to mind alot.

When doing the things I've been asked to do, and completing them with the results that I achieved...I never let the equipment suffer...do to the lack of anything. Main goal is to keep the airfield 99.9% operational.

I've held other positions before with another shop off the airfield, where electrionics/avionics was the primary function. No real difference between an FM radio in your house & one onboard the aircraft.

Like I said no A&P, i've been thinking about it...we shall have to wait and see.

I've accomplished quite a lot in my short lifetime, Phil...with much more to do.