Passenger lands C208 Caravan after pilot has medical emergency

[JimmyZ]

My first thought when watching the video was that this guy has some background in aviation.

He might not be a pilot, but listen what he says on the radio.

1. He knows what a squawk is.
2. He reads the altimeter and VSI flawlessly.
3. He asks for a heading.
4. Used terms like "stand by"
5. Uses his callsign

Well done nonetheless, I don't think one of my first 10 landings with an instructor next to me was that good.

Here's the ATC recording:

[jimdavis]

Definitely smells of fish.

jim

[p38]

Definitely smells of fish.

jim

Agreed, especially since there is no interviews etc of the pilot in question. It seems to be all about the ATC controller.

There are rumors that the pilot recovered sufficiently to do the actual landing.

[Morph]

If you follow Juan Browne, Blancolirio he shows the flight aware data of the aircraft. At the time of incapacitation the aircraft entered a steep dive from 10000ft to 6400ft, the groundspeed shot up from 180 to 300mph, Descent rate of 6375fpm. The new pilot would have had to recover this. Before the incident the flight is smooth and even, probably on autopilot, after that you can see the plane is being flown manually

[TFD]

Maybe the passenger was Trev (Jacob)

[opsmike]

Maybe the passenger was Trev (Jacob)

Maybe someone with years of home sim flying

[Walter105]

Maybe the passenger was Trev (Jacob)

Maybe someone with years of home sim flying

That could be plausible.

[Vlerkies]

Interview with ATC and some more detail on the other parties.

[Wayne Boonzaier]

Wow. Amazing what a great outcome.

I think what saved him was he was able to stay calm

[JimmyZ]

The video is a bit long, recommend watching at 1.5 speed which brings it down to 30 minutes.

But for those who don't want to watch the whole thing, the passenger who landed the plane is a friend of the owner of the plane (not onboard on this flight) and he has also "been around aviation" for long and has been in the cockpit many times.

Sounds like he had no formal training, so he must have picked up a few things over the years. But still not quite a "regular" passenger.
But again, doesn't take anything away from his accomplishment.

The second passenger in the plane was a friend of the pilot (who was incapacitated). Not confirmed but him or the guy who landed the plane might have been in the right seat the whole flight. Sounds like the pilot was in and out of consciousness since the passenger took control as he remembers some things, but was out during the whole approach and the landing, based on the instructions the pilot ATC gave to bring him in for a landing.

They don't share the exact medical details of what happened to the pilot, other than he notified the passengers of a headache shortly before collapsing onto the controls (which is why the plane went into a dive as per ADSB data). They also mention it was "a heart issue" but don't reveal much more than that.

[Morph]

They mention Savannah Guthrie is going to interview the passenger today sometime. https://www.wistv.com/2022/05/14/exclus ... e-florida/

From Juan's last video with the ATC who talked the passenger down it definitely sounds as if the passenger had absolutely no flying experience, and struggled even to make sense of airspeed etc. At one stage the ATC asked the passenger to add flaps and then tried to explain the need to trim the aircraft. This unnerved the passenger and they decided to retract the flaps. They also seem to think he only had access to the primary instruments on the dash (non-G1000 Panel) Fortunately the ATC could monitor his speed and altitude on the radar to guide him in. If you look at the track he flew overhead the airport before doing a 270Deg turn to line up, instead of a simple right turn . The ATC said they did this because there were high antennas to the left of the runway that preventing him from being able to descend safely before the right turn.

[stoney727]

Was my thoughts as well. Passenger was maybe a regular flyer, maybe with some interest in flying thus the language he used. But with no training in flying.
As for the pilot.....sounds like this new dreaded sudden illness doing the rounds lately.
With a lot of luck and good nerves and instructions from ATC this passenger did a great job.

[Raffles]

I hope the passenger gives an interview with someone. As for whatever caused the pilot to black out, we will probably never be told.

[Jason]

I hope the passenger gives an interview with someone. As for whatever caused the pilot to black out, we will probably never be told.

There is an interview from the passenger that took over the flying on YouTube by the "today show" 10 mins long, no previous training but previous flying so had some rough ideas, he did well. The controller Robert Morgan who talked him down and what to do, also did exceptionally well, a great result in the end.

Pilot was out and did not regain consciousness until after they landed (either in hospital or ambulance, not sure)

[Vlerkies]

Interview with the passenger that landed the plane.