Current:Home > FinanceWoman lands plane in California after her husband, the pilot, suffers medical emergency -Pinnacle Profit Strategies
Woman lands plane in California after her husband, the pilot, suffers medical emergency
View
Date:2025-04-17 14:52:23
A passenger took over and landed a small airplane after the pilot had medical emergency while flying from Las Vegas to Monterey in California last week, according to the Federal Aviation Authority.
Just two people were on board a twin-engine Beechcraft King Air 90 flying from Henderson Executive Airport in Las Vegas and to Monterey Regional Airport in California on Oct. 4 when the incident occured, FAA said.
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) will be leading an investigation into the incident alongside the FAA.
The passenger had no prior flying experience and took over the cockpit from her husband who suffered a heart attack, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal and Los Angeles Times.
Eliot Alper, 78, a real estate broker and founder of Spacefinders and Ramrod Realty, became "incapacitated" and his wife, Yvonne Kinane-Wells, stepped in to land the plane, Kern County Fire Department officials told the Review-Journal.
'We're going to set you up'
The passenger received help from air traffic controllers and made an emergency landing at Meadows Field Airport in California, more than 200 miles from their original destination, around 1:40 p.m. local time, the Federal Aviation Authority said in an incident report.
"We're going to set you up so that as you level off from your turn, you're going to be straight in for Bakersfield Airport," a person can be heard saying in audio recordings shared by LiveATC.net. "Is that alright?"
To which, Kinane-Wells responded with a "yes."
Emergency vehicles chased the plane down the runaway after it landed and met it as it came to a stop, the Review-Journal reported. Alper, who suffered a heart attack, was rushed to the hospital and later died, his office told the Review-Journal. No other injuries were reported.
He and Kinane-Wells had tied the knot earlier this year in February, according to the Review Journal.
'Unprecedented'
Director of airports for Kern County Ron Brewster, speaking to Inside Edition, said the incident to his knowledge was “unprecedented,” and he has “never seen" anything like this in his entire career.
The Kern County Fire Department did not immediately respond to USA TODAY's request for more information.
Saman Shafiq is a trending news reporter for USA TODAY. Reach her at sshafiq@gannett.com and follow her on X and Instagram @saman_shafiq7.
veryGood! (83713)
Related
- B.A. Parker is learning the banjo
- Judge shields second border aid group from deeper questioning in Texas investigation
- Linda Deutsch, AP trial writer who had front row to courtroom history, dies at 80
- Dusty Baker, his MLB dream no longer deferred, sees son Darren start his with Nationals
- Off the Grid: Sally breaks down USA TODAY's daily crossword puzzle, Triathlon
- Watch as shooting star burns brightly, awes driver as it arcs across Tennessee sky
- NCAA blocks Oklahoma State use of QR code helmet stickers for NIL fund
- Summer camp lets kids be kids as vilifying immigration debate roils at home
- Israel lets Palestinians go back to northern Gaza for first time in over a year as cease
- How to know if your kid is having 'fun' in sports? Andre Agassi has advice
Ranking
- Have Dry, Sensitive Skin? You Need To Add These Gentle Skincare Products to Your Routine
- How Swimmer Ali Truwit Got Ready for the 2024 Paralympics a Year After Losing Her Leg in a Shark Attack
- Storm sets off floods and landslides in Philippines, leaving at least 9 dead
- Is Usha Vance’s Hindu identity an asset or a liability to the Trump-Vance campaign?
- The White House is cracking down on overdraft fees
- Fall in love with John Hardy's fall jewelry collection
- How to know if your kid is having 'fun' in sports? Andre Agassi has advice
- Horoscopes Today, August 31, 2024
Recommendation
EU countries double down on a halt to Syrian asylum claims but will not yet send people back
Christa McAuliffe, still pioneering, is first woman with a statue on New Hampshire capitol grounds
College football Week 1 winners and losers: Georgia dominates Clemson and Florida flops
Suspect, 15, arrested in shooting near Ohio high school that killed 1 teen, wounded 4
Mets have visions of grandeur, and a dynasty, with Juan Soto as major catalyst
Christa McAuliffe, still pioneering, is first woman with a statue on New Hampshire capitol grounds
John Stamos got kicked out of Scientology for goofing around
Linda Deutsch, AP trial writer who had front row to courtroom history, dies at 80