A teenage passenger accompanying a family friend in a Cessna 150 was put to the test of a lifetime over the weekend when the 61-year-old pilot lost consciousness mid-flight.
Troy Jenkins, 19, was forced to take control of the airplane and maintain it for 45 minutes on Saturday while flying over a small airport in the Australian town of Forbes.
After making emergency radio calls, Jenkins was assisted by pilot Paul Reynolds, who was flying in the area at the time of the incident and came to Jenkins’ aid. While flying his airplane alongside the troubled Cessna 150, Reynolds provided instructions to help Jenkins keep the airplane steady at about 2,000 feet.
While Jenkins had taken the controls before while flying with the pilot, Derek Neville, he had only landed once, and that was with plenty of Neville’s guidance and oversight.
Approximately 45 minutes after Neville passed out he came to, and he and Jenkins landed the airplane together without incident. Upon landing, Neville was transported to a local hospital, but doctors have not yet diagnosed the problem.
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