With no other choice, the startled female passenger “leaped into action.” According to authorities, when the elderly pilot “passed out behind the controls,” the 2006 Piper Meridian was on final approach to the airport on Martha’s Vineyard. She grabbed the yoke and did her best to get the plane crash landed on the ground. It may have been a little hard but any landing you can walk away from, the saying goes, is a good one. She walked away, the pilot was carried. He’s still in serious condition.
Passenger lands solo
On July 15 an unnamed female small plane passenger earned her wings by executing a successful solo landing. After about 45 seconds of flight training, which she gained by on the spot experience. It helped that the pilot lined up with the runway before he collapsed.
They might have touched down a little smoother if he had extended the landing gear. The unofficial co-pilot never had time to look for the switch because the ground was coming up fast.
Authorities relate that the 79-year-old male pilot suffered a medical emergency upon final approach.
Small plane crash-lands on Martha's Vineyard after pilot passes out, passenger takes control https://t.co/60iS58l2Yw
— Fox News (@FoxNews) July 16, 2023
Massachusetts State Police acknowledges it must have been “a terrifying moment” for the far from helpless passenger. Thinking fast, she grabbed the stick, kept the nose up and let gravity do the rest.
The tower couldn’t do much more than clear the area and watch as the passenger “landed the plane in a grassy area near a runway at the island’s airport at about 3:15 p.m.”
They note she touched down a little hard. Enough that the left wing broke in half. Without any landing gear, the plane came in on it’s belly and slid.
Life threatening condition
While the female passenger was unharmed, the pilot isn’t doing real well. Considering he passed out before the crash, bouncing someone around who’s almost as old as Joe Biden isn’t a good thing.
The unconscious pilot was quickly helicoptered over to Boston Hospital in life-threatening condition.
After clear of the landing site, the passenger was “evaluated at Martha’s Vineyard Hospital and released.”
NEW ARTICLE: Pilot Incapacitation – Passenger took control of a small plane, 2006 Piper Meridian after pilot collapsed
and crash landed in grass near Martha's Vineyard Airport on July 16, 2023.
Both survived!
Article Link in photo to avoid shadowban, just re-type URL in your… pic.twitter.com/zr68dXC9VN
— William Makis MD (@MakisMD) July 18, 2023
Not much else is known about the incident other than that the two were making a quick hop to the island of Martha’s Vineyard from Westchester, New York. Both are residents of neighboring Connecticut.
The airport at Martha’s Vineyard hasn’t seen this much excitement since that plane full of migrants flew in seeking asylum. After the passenger was miraculously able to bring the plane down in mostly one piece, they had to close their main commercial runway for more than two hours while investigators crawled all over the wreckage like ants.
There were crews on site from state police, the National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Aviation Administration.
