Yurt
11-10-2008, 08:12 PM
cool story
Pilot blinded by stroke is guided safely to ground
LONDON – 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."
...
"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.
...
In a recording posted to the BBC's news Web site, Gerrard gives O'Neill instructions — "a gentle right hand turn, please," is called for at one point — and he can be heard apologizing.
"You could hear the apprehension in his voice over the radio and the frustration he was experiencing," said radar controller Richard Eggleton. "I kept saying 'Are you visual?' and he would reply 'No sir, negative, I'm sorry sir.' He kept on apologizing.
With Gerrard talking him down, O'Neill's plane hit the runway and bounced up again, the RAF said. It did the same on the second touchdown. On the third, O'Neill was able to keep his plane on the ground.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081108/ap_on_re_eu/eu_britain_blinded_pilot;_ylt=AkGoKyRPkUaoP7uL3XI8 ZBQEtbAF
Pilot blinded by stroke is guided safely to ground
LONDON – 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."
...
"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.
...
In a recording posted to the BBC's news Web site, Gerrard gives O'Neill instructions — "a gentle right hand turn, please," is called for at one point — and he can be heard apologizing.
"You could hear the apprehension in his voice over the radio and the frustration he was experiencing," said radar controller Richard Eggleton. "I kept saying 'Are you visual?' and he would reply 'No sir, negative, I'm sorry sir.' He kept on apologizing.
With Gerrard talking him down, O'Neill's plane hit the runway and bounced up again, the RAF said. It did the same on the second touchdown. On the third, O'Neill was able to keep his plane on the ground.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081108/ap_on_re_eu/eu_britain_blinded_pilot;_ylt=AkGoKyRPkUaoP7uL3XI8 ZBQEtbAF