Pilot goes blind but still lands plane
p2pnet news view | Cool:- This really is the stuff of fiction.
British solo pilot Jim O’Neill, flying a two-seat Cessna, suddenly suffered a stroke at 15,000 feet, going blind.
He radio a Mayday alert and minutes after the alarm was raised, “an RAF aircraft was flying alongside his Cessna plane and feeding information back to air traffic control, says Times Online.
“With the pilot unable to see any of his dials or measurement devices, the air traffic controller and crew of the RAF Tucano T1 aircraft [similar to the one on the right] sheparded him towards safety.”"
Wing commander Paul Gerrard described how he was taking part in an RAF training sortie when he came to the pilot’s aid, says The Guardian, continuing »»»
At one point Gerrard was flying alongside O’Neill, just 500ft away, giving instructions over the radio.
As O’Neill approached the runway on his eighth and final attempt the Wing Commander reassured him, saying: “You are doing OK, carry on, can you see the runway?”
O’Neill was then able to put down safely after two bounces on the runway. He came to a halt at the very end of the runway where he was met by the emergency services.
“Doctors believe he went blind because blood from a burst vessel put pressure on his optic nerve, and after an angioplasma procedure was carried out to clear the blockage Mr O’Neill has been told his sight should improve further once the swelling goes down,” says The Telegraph.
Times Online – Blinded pilot guided to safe landing by RAF after suffering mid-air stroke, November 7, 2008
The Guardian – Pilot who went blind mid-flight kept apologising to his rescuers, November 7, 2008
The Telegraph – Blinded pilot guided to safe landing by RAF, November 7, 2008
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