Pilot blinded by stroke is guided safely to ground

[RamboLiberal]

Source: Yahoo/AP

A British pilot who was suddenly blinded by a stroke during a solo flight was talked safely down by a military pilot, the Royal Air Force said Friday.

Jim O'Neill asked for help after he was went blind 40 minutes into a flight from Scotland to southeastern England last week. The BBC reported that O'Neill, flying a small Cessna aircraft, lost his sight 5,500 feet in the air.

"It was terrifying," O'Neill said. "Suddenly, I couldn't see the dials in front of me."

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RAF Wing Commander Paul Gerrard was just finishing a training flight nearby and was drafted in to help the stricken pilot.

Gerrard located the plane, began flying close to it and radioed directions.

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"Landing an aircraft literally blind needs someone to be right there to say 'Left a bit, right a bit, stop, down,'" Gerrard said. "On the crucial final approach, even with radar assistance, you need to take over visually. That's when having a fellow pilot there was so important.



Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081108/ap_on_re_eu/eu_britain_blinded_pilot_2

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Great story!

[DS1]

1. Jolly good kiting, old chap!

[barbtries]

2. wow

that's is a great story

[BrklynLiberal]

3. Wow. That is amazing.....

[Joe Chi Minh]

11. You had to hear the instructor's very calm, matter-of-fact voice to really get the picture

of how astonishing it was. I wouldn't have believed a trained actor could have kept so physically calm, that his voice came out so calmly and matter-of-factly.

Apparently, they made seven attemps to land, and the pilot finally got back partial vision at the last minute, but was inches away from the edge of the runway as they landed.

The instructor was an unnamed wing-commander, and there was a flight-sergeant also talking to them from the control tower.

[Muttocracy]

4. !!! Wow, both of them have to be incredible good pilots !!! and teacher-student!!

[merwin]

5. Not really a teacher-student situation though.

That blinded pilot had to have been DAMN good already (or DAMN lucky) to be able to land a plane safely blind, even with voice coaching.

If you doubt that, try playing a flight simulator, blindfolding yourself, and try to land a plane with someone next to you coaching.

That being said, the military pilot should get a promotion for what he did.

[Muttocracy]

6. right, I just mean being able to give instruction well and being able to take it well! nt

[merwin]

9. Ah, yes.

I agree with that! I like how they included the parts about the guy apologizing for not flying blind properly, and meaning it. Sounds like he pretty much surrendered himself to the will of the other pilot.

[silverojo]

7. They're both heroes

Having a stroke weakens you, as well as having effects on movement or vision, etc. Those two are incredible, for bringing down that plane!

[RamboLiberal]

8. He had a bit of sight in one eye but still great skill shown by both men

As the two planes descended, O'Neill reported glimpses of both his panel and the airfield as his vision came and went. The RAF record of the two planes' communication has Gerrard gently giving instructions to stay below the low cloud.

Aircrew watching at the base said the Cessna had bounced heavily but stayed upright and ran to a halt on the long runway. Medical staff boarded the plane, and O'Neill was transferred to Queen's hospital in Romford, Essex. He remains seriously ill but in a stable condition.

His son, Douglas O'Neill, said the stroke had left his father blind in one eye and with limited vision in the other.

He said: "If you were walking down the road or driving a car it would be bad enough, but at 14,000ft it's a whole different ball game. He thought: 'If I don't land the plane I will be dead' - but he showed incredible determination."

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2008/nov/08/raf-pilot-stroke-blinded

Mr Gerrard intercepted Mr O'Neill's Cessna 152 Skylane within minutes, flying just 500ft away so he could give the stricken pilot precise instructions on what to do.

It was a further 45 minutes before Mr O'Neill finally touched down at his eighth attempt, bouncing twice before coming to a halt at the very end of the runway, where an ambulance was waiting.

Radar controller Richard Eggleton, one of 12 people involved in the rescue, said: "You could hear the apprehension in his voice over the radio and the frustration he was experiencing. I kept saying 'Are you visual?' and he would reply 'No sir, negative, I'm sorry sir'. He kept on apologising."

His wife Eileen, 63, said "It is a miracle Jim is here today. The RAF are heroes. They were so cool and calm."

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/3400429/Blinded-pilot-guided-to-safe-landing-by-RAF.html

[bitchkitty]

10. Wow, happy ending to a scary story! n/t