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Friday, May 27, 2011
Wife Takes Controls of Husband's Plane
Associated Press
FARMINGTON — A woman whose pilot husband was having trouble breathing and speaking took over the controls of a small airplane during a flight from California to Colorado and flew toward the Farmington airport while receiving guidance from ground controllers and another pilot, authorities said.
The Federal Aviation Administration released audio and a transcript of the May 17 incident on Thursday.
"Have you ever flown an aircraft before?" asked the other pilot, who was flying a Great Lakes Airlines flight in the area. "Do you have any experience?"
"No," the woman replied.
The Great Lakes pilot told the woman how to turn on the autopilot function and begin a controlled descent.
The FAA declined to release the names of the pilot and the passenger, and the specifics of the man's medical problem weren't available.
The couple were flying from San Bernardino, Calif., to Colorado Springs.
During a routine conversation earlier in the flight, an air traffic controller in Longmont, Colo., Charlie Rohrer, noticed that the single-engine Cirrus SR22's 70-year-old pilot appeared to have difficulty breathing, KCNC in Denver reported. The woman said her husband was slurring his speech and was unable to push the buttons.
Rohrer told the Great Lakes pilot that he believed the smaller plane's pilot was having trouble functioning because of lack of oxygen. Both the pilot and his wife were wearing oxygen masks because of the Rocky Mountain altitudes.
The pilot recovered as the plane descended, and he landed the plane safely in Farmington.
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