November 10, 2008 — A pilot who suddenly lost his vision while flying his plane at 5,500 feet landed safely, thanks to the Royal Air Force.
The BBC reported that on November 7, Jim O'Neill, 65, was flying a two-seater Cessna aircraft from Glasgow Prestwick Airport to Colchester, Essex, when he suffered a stroke and lost his sight. O’Neill issued a mayday and a RAF plane was eventually called in to help. Wing Commander Paul Gerrard, chief flying instructor, flew his Tucano T1 about 50 meters, or about 164 feet, next to the Cessna to bring O'Neill safely down, using his voice to guide him by telling him to turn left and right, and lower the plane.
Operations commanding officer at RAF Linton-on-Ouse, Wing Commander Andy Hynd told the BBC, “At first he believed he was being blinded by sunlight because he had difficulty seeing his instruments and so he declared an emergency.
Doctors later determined that O'Neill had a blood clot pressing against his optic nerve blinding him in one eye and compromising his vision in the other.
"The RAF routinely practices shepherding but we are usually shepherding lost aircraft, we are not used to shepherding blind pilots, which is what makes this amazing,” Hynd said. "It was a fantastic team effort from all those involved and we're proud that we could get him to the ground safely."
O'Neill was checked over by RAF medics before being transferred to Queen's Hospital in Romford, Essex.
SkyNews reported that O'Neill's son, Douglas, said his father had begun to regain his sight in one eye and doctors were hopeful that he might soon be released from the hospital.
|
|
Jim O’Neill has regained some of his eyesight, although he remains hospitalized. Photo: SkyNews
Radar controller Sgt Richard Eggleton helped guide O'Neill
to safety. Photo: BBC
|
News Archive | Air Shows & Events | KidVenture | Young Eagles Newsletter
EMAIL
STORY
PRINTER
FRIENDLY
Privacy Policy 