In Palm Beach, Florida, on Tuesday, a passenger was forced to land a small private plane after the pilot became incoherent, per ABC7 Los Angeles. The passenger was the only other person on board the aircraft. ABC News obtained an audio recording of the passenger speaking to Air Traffic Control.
In the recording, the passenger states, “My pilot has gone incoherent. I have no idea how to fly the airplane.”
Air traffic controller Robert Morgan was on duty at the time. WPBF reported that he was a flight instructor and had 20 years of experience under his belt.
“I knew the plane was flying like any other plane, I just knew I had to keep him calm, point him to the runway and tell him how to reduce the power so he could descend to land,” Morgan said, according to WPBF.
🛫 NEW VIDEO: Watch the intense moments as a passenger lands a plane after the pilot was "incoherent." Hear how the air traffic controller describes what it was like to talk him through it: https://t.co/W5I7NneRZM pic.twitter.com/GuR0Ws0ntL
— WPBF 25 News (@WPBF25News) May 11, 2022
CNN reported that in another audio recording, an air traffic controller can be heard telling other aircrafts that what they had seen was a passenger, with no flying experience, landing a plane. An American Airlines pilot responded, saying, “Did you say the passengers landed the airplane? ... Oh, my God. Great job.”
No report has been made on the status of the pilot. The New York Post reported that the Federal Aviation Administration said they believe a medical emergency occurred that rendered the pilot incoherent, but an investigation is currently taking place.
The name of the passenger that landed the plane has also not been released yet.