The 64-year-old pilot of a small plane who passed out in flight, leaving his passenger with no flying experience to land the Cessna in Florida, suffered a tear in his aorta, according to his cardiothoracic surgeon.
Kenneth Allen was flying two passengers from the Bahamas on May 10 when he lost consciousness. Dr. Nishant Patel and the team at Palm Beach Gardens Medical Center operated on Allen and said his recovery has been remarkable.
Passenger Darren Harrison had no flying experience but was able to take over and pilot the plane after Allen passed out.
Robert Morgan said he was outside the tower, reading a book on a break, when he heard there was an unexperienced passenger flying a Cessna.
Morgan, a flight instructor, immediately got in the passenger’s ear, trying to help him get down safely.
Morgan had never flown the specific Cessna model, so he used a picture of the cockpit to guide the novice back down.
When he asked the passenger, later identified as Harrison, what he was seeing, the passenger said he was just passing the shoreline near Boca Raton.
Within moments, what seemed like a nightmare was now a thing of the past.
“Before I knew it, he was like, “I’m on the ground. How do I turn this thing off?’ " Morgan recalled.
The plane safely landed at Palm Beach International Airport.
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Kenneth Allen was flying two passengers from the Bahamas on May 10 when he lost consciousness. Dr. Nishant Patel and the team at Palm Beach Gardens Medical Center operated on Allen and said his recovery has been remarkable.
Passenger Darren Harrison had no flying experience but was able to take over and pilot the plane after Allen passed out.
Robert Morgan said he was outside the tower, reading a book on a break, when he heard there was an unexperienced passenger flying a Cessna.
Morgan, a flight instructor, immediately got in the passenger’s ear, trying to help him get down safely.
Morgan had never flown the specific Cessna model, so he used a picture of the cockpit to guide the novice back down.
When he asked the passenger, later identified as Harrison, what he was seeing, the passenger said he was just passing the shoreline near Boca Raton.
Within moments, what seemed like a nightmare was now a thing of the past.
“Before I knew it, he was like, “I’m on the ground. How do I turn this thing off?’ " Morgan recalled.
The plane safely landed at Palm Beach International Airport.
Continue reading...