Pilot Suffers Medical Emergency During Flight, So Passenger Takes Matters Into Her Own Hands
A small airplane crash-landed in a grassy field near a runway at a Martha’s Vineyard airport after the pilot suffered a medical emergency.
According to a preliminary report of an investigation being conducted by the Massachusetts State Police, the plane was approaching the airport on Saturday to land when its 79-year-old pilot became incapacitated.
The incident occurred at approximately 3:15 PM, according to the West Tisbury Police Department where the plane was attempting to land.
A female passenger on the six-seater aircraft took control of the aircraft and attempted to land it on the exclusive resort island.
The airplane came down hard on the ground just outside the runway.
According to police, the impact caused the left wing of the 2006 Piper Meridian dual propeller aircraft to break in half.
“The male pilot, 80 years of age, was having a medical condition upon approach when the female passenger, 68, took over controls eventually landing the plane on its belly with no landing gear,” the West Tisbury Police Department said on Facebook.
Police, fire and medical personnel arrived at the scene and transported both the pilot and the passenger to a local hospital.
A video posted on YouTube by The New York Post showed the aftermath of the crash:
The pilot’s condition was reported as serious and life-threatening, and he was transferred to Boston in a medical helicopter.
It is unclear if his condition is related to the crash-landing, the medical emergency that led to it or both.
Police said the female passenger escaped the incident without any injuries. The woman was evaluated at a Martha’s Vineyard hospital and released.
Neither the pilot nor his passenger were identified by police, but are both reportedly from Connecticut.
The plane had taken off from an airport in Westchester, New York, earlier in the afternoon on the day of the crash.
The Federal Aviation Administration is also investigating the crash.
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