A woman without pilot training landed a plane in Bakersfield, CA, after her husband, the pilot, suffered a heart attack during the flight. The harrowing incident occurred on Friday, October 4, according to a news release from the Federal Aviation Administration.
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Eliot Alper, 78, was flying a twin-engine Beechcraft King Air 90 from Henderson, Nevada, to Monterey, California, when he experienced a medical emergency while accompanied by his wife and sole passenger, Yvonne Kinane-Wells, 69.
Alper, who wed Kinane-Wells in February, was urgently hospitalized and later passed away. His real estate office confirmed this to the Las Vegas Review-Journal on Monday, October 7.
During the incident, Kinane-Wells, a real estate agent, received guidance from air traffic control on piloting the small plane, as revealed in an audio recording obtained by Inside Edition. In the recordings, the air traffic controller provided instructions on altitude and advised her to alter her course to land at Meadows Field Airport in Bakersfield.
She successfully landed the aircraft at 1:40 p.m. Following the landing, emergency vehicles pursued the plane down the 11,000-foot runway until Kinane-Wells was able to bring the aircraft to a stop.
Ron Brewster, the director of airports for Kern County, informed Inside Edition that this incident is, to his knowledge, “unprecedented.” He further stated that he has never witnessed anything like it “in [his] entire career.”
Onlookers React to a Woman Landing a Plane After Her Husband Suffered a Heart Attack
In the comments to the Inside Edition story on YouTube, many watchers marveled at Kinane-Wells’ courage. “Awesome that she landed a multi-engine, turbo prop plane. That’s a complex plane to fly!” another onlooker added.
“Good thing she was there and able to remain calm and collected,” one TouTube comment read.
Others noted the skill of the air traffic control who helped guide Kinane-Wells.
“Hats off to Air traffic controls instructions and the wife’s ability to remain calm and land safely,” one person wrote. “Best technical support ever received,” a second onlooker added.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) are currently conducting an investigation.