LOST & BLIND Pilot! RAF scrambles to rescue скачать в хорошем качестве

LOST & BLIND Pilot! RAF scrambles to rescue

In 2009, Jim O'Neill, a 65-year-old light aircraft pilot, went blind mid-flight at 4,500 meters (15,000 feet) due to a stroke and was guided to safety by an RAF aircraft. O'Neill was flying his four-seater Cessna over North Yorkshire on his way back to Essex from a holiday in Scotland when he lost his sight and called for help. He descended to 1,500 feet but struggled to land at Full Sutton airstrip near York, failing four times, and was then redirected to Linton-on-Ouse. Wing Commander Paul Gerrard, piloting a Tucano T1, escorted O'Neill to the ground. Throughout the ordeal, Sergeant Richard Eggleton, a radar operator, communicated with O'Neill via radio. Wing Commander Andy Hynd, operations commander at Linton-on-Ouse, noted that although shepherding lost aircraft is routine, assisting a blinded pilot was extraordinary. Eggleton mentioned that O'Neill initially thought he had been blinded by sunlight but realized he was unwell when his Cessna entered cloud cover and he issued a mayday. Eggleton was about to transfer O'Neill to the next control tower at Humberside airport when the pilot began descending sharply without instructions. Gerrard, who was already airborne in the Tucano, altered his course to position himself close to the Cessna and provided guidance. As the two aircraft descended, O'Neill caught glimpses of his instrument panel and the airfield as his vision fluctuated. The RAF's records of their communication show Gerrard instructing O'Neill to stay below the low cloud cover. The Cessna landed heavily but remained upright and came to a stop on the long runway. Medical staff quickly attended to O'Neill, transferring him to Queen's hospital in Romford, Essex, where he remains seriously ill but stable. Douglas O'Neill, Jim's son, shared that the stroke had left his father blind in one eye and with limited vision in the other. He remarked on his father's determination to land the plane despite the severe circumstances, recognizing the significant challenge of doing so at 14,000 feet. News link https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2008/n...