Citazione:Flight student lands plane in emergency
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
PROVINCETOWN -- A cool-headed pilot-in-training took the controls of a Cape Air flight and landed the plane safely on Friday night after the plane veered off course and the disoriented pilot had to be wrestled from the pilot's seat.
Melanie Oswalt, 24, was a passenger aboard the Martha's Vineyard-to-Hyannis flight with three businessmen when she noticed the plane veering off course at about 8 p.m.
The pilot, whose name was not released but was described as a man in his 50s with years of flying experience, "became disoriented" at the helm, according to Michelle Haynes, Cape Air director of communication.
The normally 15-minute flight had been in the air for about 30 minutes when Oswalt intervened and struggled with the pilot for control of the plane before the passengers grabbed him and he passed out.
"She was the first to notice something was amiss with the pilot," said Michelle Haynes, Cape Air director of communication. "She immediately got into the right-hand seat and took over."
In what Haynes called "an extraordinary effort," Oswalt took the controls of the Cessna 402 and landed it, without landing gear, at Provincetown Airport at about 8 p.m.
According to Haynes, Oswalt works as a security trainer for Cape Air but has had some flight training. Haynes said that Oswalt had landed a plane solo at Provincetown Airport in the past.
Officials on the scene said the plane, a Cessna 402, made a hard landing. The passengers were examined at the scene and released.
The pilot was taken by ambulance to Cape Cod Hospital in Hyannis. He was tested for alcohol and drugs but the results will not be known for a week, Haynes said.
She also said officials are looking into whether he may have had a medical condition.
"We are now investigating what happened to that pilot. We just don't know what happened," she said.
The pilot, who has a clean flying record, has been suspended pending the outcome of an internal probe. The Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board also are investigating the incident.
http://www.s-t.com/daily/02-02/02-11-02/a07sr045.htm