Can you imagine trying to land an airplane with your eyes closed? Neither can I. That's why I was so surprised when I read a story about a man who was flying a plane and suddenly went blind. No I am not making this stuff up it actually happened.
This all took place in London when a British pilot was suddenly blinded by a stroke during a solo flight. He had to be talked down by a military pilot in the Royal Air force. The pilots name is Jim O'Neill and he was in the middle of a flight from Scotland to southeastern England. He lost his sight 5,500 ft in the air. This is about where I would start panicking. "It was terrifying," O'Neill said, "Suddenly, I couldn't see the dials in front of me." He then made an emergency call for help and said, "I want to land, ASAP!" Luckily there was a military pilot, Paul Gerrard, on a training flight nearby who was contacted and asked to guide O'Neill down to safety. This is what Gerrard had to say about the situation:
"For me, I was just happy to help a fellow aviator in distress. Landing an aircraft literally blind needs someone to be right there to say 'Left a bit, right a bit, stop, down. 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."
"For me, I was just happy to help a fellow aviator in distress. Landing an aircraft literally blind needs someone to be right there to say 'Left a bit, right a bit, stop, down. 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."
O'Neill is currently recovering in a hospital and he is begging to regain his sight. The doctors have confirmed that he suffered a stroke due to a blood clot. What I would like to know is if O'Neill is planning to continue flying after he has fully recovered. If I were him there is no way I would even attempt to fly a plane again. I think it's time this 65-year-old calls it quits. He has been a pilot for nearly two decades. He gave it a good run but I think it's time for him to get a job as a Walmart greeter or something like that that suites his age.
3 comments:
That is truly amazing... not only that he landed blind but that O'Neill had the skill and the experience to help him land safely without even being in the cockpit with him.
Holy Cow!!!! I can't believe that... I would totally freak out. I would just start crying and probably just panic. I am very impressed that Gerrard was able to talk O'Neill down. It is hard enough trying to tell people how to get to my house when I am on the phone with them, I couldn't imagine the added pressure of trying to land a plane. That is amazing and I hope O'Neill recovers from that scary flight. I agree that he should call it quits, it will be hard to give it up, but it's not fair to put other people in danger.
That's crazy! I saw the title of your article an i had to read it. I found it very cool that a pilot could actually land his plane blind. That is unbelievable. I totally agree though that the pilot should probably call it quits, I mean I know i wouldn't get back in an air plane if that ever happened to me.
Post a Comment