“I’ve no idea how to stop the airplane,” a passenger told the airport tower as he attempted to safely land his plane after realising that the pilot was too sick to handle the controls. An air traffic controller guided him down to Florida’s Palm Beach International Airport and the two soon met on the runway for a hug. 

Also Read: Tibet Airlines plane veers off runway on take-off, catches fire. Video

The unidentified passenger onboard a single-engine Cessna 208 took control of the plane after the pilot “passed out.” He used the cockpit radio to make an urgent plea for help.

“I’ve got a serious situation here. My pilot has gone incoherent. I have no idea how to fly the airplane,” he was heard saying over the radio.

Also Read: Staff made best possible decision under difficult circumstances: IndiGo CEO on boarding row

When asked for his position, he responded, “I have no idea. I can see the coast of Florida in front of me, and I have no idea.”

Air Traffic Controller Robert Morgan soon pulled up a picture of the instrument panel’s layout and started guiding the passenger. 

“Try to hold the wings level and see if you can start descending for me. Push forward on the controls and descend at a very slow rate,” he told him. 

“Try to follow the coast either north or southbound. We’re trying to locate you.”

Also Read: Romania military rescue helicopter crash kills 7 soldiers

The passenger turned out to be a good student and followed the instruction to a T. He finally landed the plane safely. 

“I felt like I was going to cry then, because I had so much adrenaline built up,” Morgan said. “I was really happy that it worked out and that nobody got hurt.”

Morgan told WPBF that he felt like he was in the right place at the right time.

“I knew the plane was flying like any other plane. I just had to keep him calm, point him to the runway and just tell him how to reduce the power so he could descend to land. It felt really good to help someone,” Morgan said.

Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Rick Breitenfeldt confirmed that the pilot and passenger were the only two people aboard. The agency is investigating, he said in an email. The condition of the pilot was not known.