Passenger with no flying experience lands plane after pilot falls ill(Photo)

Passenger with no flying experience lands plane after pilot falls ill(Photo)

The plane 

A brave aeroplane passenger with no flying experience was forced to take over the controls and make an emergency landing last night after the pilot fell ill & eventually died.
The hero passenger was helped by two instructors who guided him fly the Cessna into Humberside Airport, in north Lincolnshire, from the ground.
Some witnesses described the plane bumping on the runway and sparks coming off the front of it.

Roy Murray, one of the flight instructors who helped the passenger land the plane, told the BBC the passenger had no flying experience and did a 'remarkable job'.

He did a beautiful landing,' 'I wouldn't be frightened to fly with him.I feel satisfied but sad. It could have been a lot worse.'We started in the radar room to guide him to the airport. It took him four or five attempts to land the plane, as we had to use different runways because of the failing light.'

Stuart Sykes saw the aircraft, which took off at Sandtoft Airfield, near Doncaster, West Yorkshire, land on its third attempt shortly before 8pm.
He said:

 'It came down with a bump, a bump, a bump, hit the front end down, I heard some crashing and it's come to a halt.There were a few sparks and three or four crashes, that must have been the propeller hitting the floor. Then it uprighted again and it came to a stop.

 Former RAF Sergeant, Graham Hendricks, 57, who is a frequent flyer from Humberside Airport, described the landing as 'miraculous.'

 'For a chap who hasn't flown a plane before to put it down in those circumstances is a miracle.
'It was dark and the passenger must have known his pilot was very seriously ill which would have put him under even more pressure.
'Humberside is the not the easiest airport to land at for a novice which makes it even more incredible.'

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