Hello Steve, That guy was really lucky. It's a good thing that the other flyer was near by. Thanks for sending this. Original message: > Blinded Pilot Guided Safely to Ground >>> By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS >>> Filed at 7:42 p.m. ET
>>> LONDON (AP) -- A British pilot who was suddenly blinded by a stroke >>> during a >>> solo flight was talked safely down by a military pilot, the Royal Air >>> Force >>> said Friday. >>> Jim O'Neill asked for help after he was went blind 40 minutes into a >>> flight >>> from Scotland to southeastern England last week. The BBC reported that >>> O'Neill, flying a small Cessna aircraft, lost his sight 5,500 feet in the >>> air. >>> ''It was terrifying,'' O'Neill said. ''Suddenly, I couldn't see the dials >>> in >>> front of me.'' >>> The air force said in a news release that O'Neill initially believed he'd >>> been ''dazzled'' by bright sunlight, and made an emergency call for help. >>> He >>> then realized that something more serious was happening, and said, ''I >>> want >>> to land, ASAP.'' >>> RAF Wing Commander Paul Gerrard was just finishing a training flight >>> nearby >>> and was drafted in to help the stricken pilot. >>> Gerrard located the plane, began flying close to it and radioed >>> directions. >>> ''For me, I was just glad to help a fellow aviator in distress,'' he >>> said. >>> ''Landing an aircraft literally blind needs someone to be right there to >>> say >>> 'Left a bit, right a bit, stop, down,''' Gerrard said. ''On the crucial >>> final approach, even with radar assistance, you need to take over >>> visually. >>> That's when having a fellow pilot there was so important. >>> O'Neill's son, Douglas, said his father is an experienced pilot who has >>> flown for nearly two decades. The 65-year-old is recovering in hospital >>> where he is beginning to regain his sight. >>> ''The doctors have confirmed that he suffered a stroke from a blood clot, >>> but he doesn't seem to have suffered any other ill-effects apart from >>> losing >>> his sight,'' Douglas O'Neill said. ''He says he went blind very suddenly >>> and >>> then, once he'd got over the shock, was able to distinguish a bit of >>> darkness and light.'' >>> In a recording posted to the BBC's news Web site, Gerrard gives O'Neill >>> instructions -- ''a gentle right hand turn, please,'' is called for at >>> one >>> point -- and he can be heard apologizing. >>> ''You could hear the apprehension in his voice over the radio and the >>> frustration he was experiencing,'' said radar controller Richard >>> Eggleton. >>> ''I kept saying 'Are you visual?' and he would reply 'No sir, negative, >>> I'm >>> sorry sir.' He kept on apologizing. >>> With Gerrard talking him down, O'Neill's plane hit the runway and bounced >>> up >>> again, the RAF said. It did the same on the second touchdown. On the >>> third, >>> O'Neill was able to keep his plane on the ground. >>> ''It's one of those things you might hear about happening in some sort of >>> all-action film but it's hard to believe what they did,'' Douglas O'Neill >>> said of the RAF. ''They were just tremendous.'' > A single candle can illuminate an entire room. A true friend lights up > an entire lifetime. Thanks for the bright lights of your friendship. > -- Email services provided by the System Access Mobile Network. Visit www.serotek.com to learn more about accessibility anywhere. --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ Access the Recipes And More list archives at: http://www.mail-archive.com/recipesandmore%40googlegroups.com/ Visit the group home page at: http://groups.google.com/group/RecipesAndMore -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
