On y a tous rêver.....
Posted: Mon 13 Apr, 2009 11:49
Passenger, controllers combine to save plane
FORT MYERS: Air traffic controllers around south Florida quickly improvised a chain of communication that helped a passenger land a small plane after the pilot died mid-flight Sunday.
The National Air Traffic Controller's Association released more details about the emergency Monday.
The plane was headed from Marco Island to Jackson, Mississippi around 1:30 p.m. when controllers in Miami couldn't raise the pilot on the radio.
The next voice they heard was from a passenger, who said he had a pilot's license but was unfamiliar with the King Air turboprop he and fiver others were aboard.
The man told controllers the plane was on auto-pilot and was still climbing, and he didn't know how to disengage it.
A controller with flying experience worked with him to fly the plane while other controllers worked to handle other air traffic in the area.
The passenger was able to get the plane off auto-pilot and head toward Southwest Florida International Airport.
When Miami controllers handed the flight off to RSW, a controller called a friend who was certified on the Air King to get expert help.
That man got out his flight checklists, manuals and cockpit layout sheets and would relay information to the controller, who gave the information to another controller, who then told the passenger what to do.
The system worked and the man was able to bring the plane in safely.
The names of those involved have not been released yet.
FORT MYERS: Air traffic controllers around south Florida quickly improvised a chain of communication that helped a passenger land a small plane after the pilot died mid-flight Sunday.
The National Air Traffic Controller's Association released more details about the emergency Monday.
The plane was headed from Marco Island to Jackson, Mississippi around 1:30 p.m. when controllers in Miami couldn't raise the pilot on the radio.
The next voice they heard was from a passenger, who said he had a pilot's license but was unfamiliar with the King Air turboprop he and fiver others were aboard.
The man told controllers the plane was on auto-pilot and was still climbing, and he didn't know how to disengage it.
A controller with flying experience worked with him to fly the plane while other controllers worked to handle other air traffic in the area.
The passenger was able to get the plane off auto-pilot and head toward Southwest Florida International Airport.
When Miami controllers handed the flight off to RSW, a controller called a friend who was certified on the Air King to get expert help.
That man got out his flight checklists, manuals and cockpit layout sheets and would relay information to the controller, who gave the information to another controller, who then told the passenger what to do.
The system worked and the man was able to bring the plane in safely.
The names of those involved have not been released yet.
