Bumpy ride for passenger
who learns to fly mid-air

Life imitated Hollywood in the United States on the weekend when the passenger of a light plane was forced to land it himself after the pilot passed out at the controls.

Henry Anhalt, who had never flown a plane in his life, was returning to Florida from the Bahamas, with his wife and three children, when the pilot of the single engine Piper aircraft collapsed.

After sending out a mayday, Mr Anhalt was contacted by a nearby flight instructor, who gave some quick lessons on handling the plane and then, half an hour later, helped talk him through the landing.

Despite a bumpy landing, which saw the plane veer across a grassy median strip before coming to a halt on an adjacent runway, little damage was sustained and the passengers emerged unhurt. The pilot was later pronounced dead, with cause unknown.

"Bumpy ride for a new pilot"

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