Rita Odafe
A remarkable incident occurred on October 4, when a woman with no flying skills managed to land a plane in California after her husband, who was flying, suffered a heart attack during their trip.
Yvonne Kinane-Wells, aged 69, contacted air traffic control as her husband, Eliot Alper, 78, collapsed in the cockpit at an altitude of 5,900 feet.
Kinane-Wells, a real estate agent from Las Vegas, faced a dire situation as they flew from Henderson Executive Airport to Monterey, California when Alper became incapacitated.
Recorded audio revealed Kinane-Wells’ distress as she explained their emergency to air traffic control.
The air traffic controller calmly guided her with instructions to gain altitude and directed her to the nearest airport.
“We’re going to set you up so that as you level off from your turn, you’re going to be straight in for Bakersfield Airport. Is that alright?” asked the controller, to which Kinane-Wells nervously agreed.
In a few moments, she successfully executed an emergency landing at Bakersfield’s Meadows Field Airport, marking the first time she had ever operated an aircraft.
As the plane touched down, emergency personnel mobilized to assist, though Kinane-Wells went beyond the runway, finally stopping just off the road.
Alper was quickly taken to a hospital by the Kern County Fire Department, and his condition remains unknown.
Ron Brewster, the director of airports in Kern County, noted that Kinane-Wells’ landing was an unmatched event in his experience.
“It’s to my knowledge unprecedented. I’ve never seen it in my entire career,” Brewster remarked, according to the Daily Mail.
