The hero passenger who landed a plane after his pilot fell unconscious mid-flight

JOHN WILDEY had never flown an aircraft before but when his pilot friend fell ill he knew his only hope was to take charge of the controls himself if he wanted to survive

John Wildey with the Cessna Skyhawk at Sandtoft Airfield Lincolnshire John Wildey with the Cessna Skyhawk at Sandtoft Airfield, Lincolnshire [CHANNEL 4]

The sun was setting on a glorious autumn day as the tiny aircraft headed for home. 

On board the Cessna Skyhawk were John Wildey, a 77-year-old grandfather, and the pilot, a long-standing friend. Their regular joyrides in the skies above Lincolnshire were a highlight for John. 

Although he had never piloted an aircraft he flew regularly with others on days out, often landing at an airfield for lunch. John was sitting alongside the pilot when his friend became ill. 

The pilot was able to set the controls before losing consciousness. To his horror, John realised that he was on his own.

The incredible story of how the complete novice managed to fly solo and, against all the odds, land the aircraft is told in a Channel 4 documentary tomorrow. 


“We’d had a good flight that day,” says John, whose love of aircraft stems from his years in an RAF desk job. 

“We spent the time picking out landmarks, pootling around and enjoying ourselves.” Cruising at 1,500ft, their destination was Sandtoft Airfield, near Scunthorpe, Lincolnshire, where they were scheduled to land at 7pm.

When the pilot became ill at first it seemed there was nothing to worry about and he even joked about opening the door of the aircraft, which has dual controls, so he was not sick on John’s trousers.

However, it quickly became obvious that this was an emergency.

John recalls: “He suddenly said, ‘Take control John.’ He threw his head back. 

I am a passenger. My pilot seems to be unconscious. I am not a pilot

John Wildey

I thought he had fainted. I asked, ‘Are you all right mate?’ and nudged him a few times, thinking he would come round.

Nothing. I felt for a pulse but there was nothing. He was cold and clammy. 

I just thought, ‘What do I do now?’ I pressed the button to speak to air traffic controllers and called, ‘Mayday, Mayday, Mayday.’ It was then I realised I was going to have to try to fly the plane.”

In his first message to the tower John sounds remarkably calm. 

He is heard saying: “I am a passenger. My pilot seems to be unconscious. I am not a pilot.”

John had taken a passing interest in the instrument dials of the Cessna during his previous flights and was able to give his height but had no idea of his speed. 

Asked by the controllers if he has ever flown before he replies: “Negative.” 

His only way of handling the aircraft was using the steering stick, for direction and altitude, and throttle to vary speed. 

He had to learn quickly if he was to stand a chance of getting down alive.

However John Cameron, the first air traffic controller to speak to John, says: “This guy was in trouble. Worst case scenario was a crash. His chances of landing safely and walking away were possibly no more than 30 per cent.”

He tried to keep John calm and focus on simple tasks. 

John was able to circle the small airfield but the decision was taken to divert him 20 miles to the larger Humberside Airport, between Grimsby and Hull, which also has fire trucks.

aircraft, plane, passenger, flight, landing, pilot, john wildey, cessna skyhawk, flew, channel 4 documentary, factual, fly, what to watch, Mayday: TheRoy Murray talked John through bringing the Cessna down [ROSS PARRY]

All other flights were diverted and a Sea King search and rescue helicopter was scrambled from RAF Leconfield. Meanwhile, flying instructor Roy Murray was contacted and rushed by road to the airport to talk John down. 

Fortunately, although the light was fading fast, the weather was fine and John could see the Humber Bridge, allowing him to change course and follow a main road to the landing strip. 

“I knew I had to stay as calm as possible otherwise I would lose everything. I wanted to live. If I panicked I was going to hit the deck.”

A minor runway was chosen, allowing John to fly into the wind to cushion his landing, and he began his descent at 6.56pm, some 40 minutes after taking control. 

By now John was convinced that the pilot, who is not being named at the request of his family, was not going to recover.

Keeping the plane in the air was one thing but as John, from Rossington, South Yorkshire, admits, landing in darkness was a different matter altogether. 

“I was lost. I couldn’t see the runway and didn’t know my angle of attack or speed. I thought I was never going to make it. I was cursing myself.” 

He was forced to abort his first attempt, climbing rapidly at the last minute as it became obvious he had overshot. 

Then it was decided to instruct him to land on the longer, better-lit, main runway despite a crosswind. An additional problem was that he was unable to turn on the cabin lights so he couldn’t see his instruments.

In the dark it was all too easy to become disorientated and there was a fear he could hit homes, a road or an oil refinery. As he tried to circle John allowed his speed to drop and went into a spin. All seemed lost. 

John recalls: “I could see the airport lights going round and round. That was the worst time because I didn’t seem to be in control. I thought, ‘Oh God what do I do now?’” 

But he stabilised the Cessna and is heard apologising to the tower for his earlier mishap and cracking jokes. 

Twice more he made failed approaches. By then he had been at the controls for more than 90 minutes and there was a risk of running out of fuel. His throat was dry and he was becoming tired.

Then, using different coloured lights to line up, John approached for a fourth time flying at 80mph. The team guiding him decided that his descent was near perfect and gave the go-ahead for a landing. 

He crossed a road in front of the runway and reached the point of no return, with the reassuring voice of the instructor in his earphones.

“You’re looking good,” John is told by Roy. “Come on, son.”

The fragile aircraft bounces several times as it hits the runway heavily, nose down, sparks fly and a video recording from the helicopter’s night-vision camera shows it veering wildly on to the grass.

There’s a breathless pause then congratulations ring out from the tower as the plane comes to a halt. There are handshakes all round.

Emergency vehicles are seen surrounding the Cessna, which is unscathed. Later it’s confirmed that the pilot had died from natural causes.

“I’m a lucky bloke,” says John, a widower, who has three grown-up children. “I bought a lottery ticket that week and won £6.70. I’ve always dreamed of flying aircraft but not in those circumstances. I don’t know how I stayed so calm, but when I climbed out of that plane I was shaking like a leaf.”

Undeterred by his brush with death, John Wildey has flown several times since and recently took his first lesson.

Mayday: The Passenger Who Landed A Plane, tomorrow, 9pm, Channel 4