'Terrified' passenger lands plane

The passenger who landed a plane after the pilot collapsed at the controls that he was "terrified".

When John Wildey was told the flight instructor that guided him down said he would make a good pilot, he told ITV News, "I doubt it, I was sat there as white as a sheet".

"It's very nice of him to say so but I was terrified to be honest," he continued.

"I'd love to go up again," Mr Wildey said, laughing, "I have got a free lesson from a friend down South that I was supposed to have done two, three weeks ago, but the cloud was down".

The passenger who landed a plane after its pilot collapsed at the controls had done "a bloody good job," the aircraft's owner said.

Matthew Fox said of John Wildey: "It would be nigh on impossible for someone who has never had any tuition to do what he did.

"The pilot has died and that is very sad but it could have been a lot worse. He has done remarkably well - 90% of people wouldn't have been able to do it."

The plane was leased by Flying Fox Aviation, based at Bagby Airfield near Thirsk in North Yorkshire, to Sandtoft Airfield and Flying School.

Mr Fox said the passenger's job was made more difficult as he was not sat in the pilot's seat.

The passenger who landed a plane after its pilot fell ill at the controls took four attempts to successfully touch down.

ITV News correspondent Damon Green has the details:

A passenger who landed a plane after the pilot fell ill at the controls said he "hadn't a clue how to get down".

John Wildey told the BBC that he explained to air traffic controllers that he had no flying experience and that the pilot could not control the plane.

Mr Wildey said he was advised to circle the airfield, which he did "for a few times" while the pilot was unconscious.

The passenger said he did not think he was going to make it after landing the light aircraft "with a right bump", adding, "I suppose it was a controlled crash really".

A friend of the passenger who landed a plane after the pilot was taken ill said he was "nothing short of a hero".

Richard Tomlinson, who was also a friend of the pilot, told BBC Radio Sheffield, "For somebody who is not a pilot but has been around airfields and been a passenger on several occasions to take control is nothing short of phenomenal."

Mr Tomlinson said the man who died was a very experienced pilot.

He continued: "Only this week I was sat having a cup of tea and airfield banter [with both men].

"They were both very funny gentlemen to have a conversation with. "It is very, very sad news."

The post mortem of a pilot who died after falling ill at the controls of his plane is expected to take place tomorrow afternoon, Humberside Police have said.

Police are not treating his death as suspicious "at this time" and the results of the post mortem will determine whether an inquest is necessary.

"In accordance with the wishes of the family of the deceased, police will not be confirming the identity of the pilot nor releasing any video footage of the incident," a spokesperson added.

A pilot who fell ill at the controls leaving a passenger who had never flown an aircraft before to land the plane has died, Humberside Police said.

Emergency services gathered at Humberside Airport, north Lincolnshire, on Tuesday evening after a passenger in the light aircraft had to land it with the help of two instructors from the ground, an airport spokesman said.

A passenger who had never flown an aircraft before has been praised for making a safe emergency landing after the pilot became ill and unable to operate the controls.

Roy Murray, one of the flight instructors who helped the passenger land the plane from the ground, told the BBC the passenger had no flying experience and did a "remarkable job".

He said the passenger made quite a good landing in the circumstances, considering he had never flown a plane before and was "flying blind".

Mr Murray said: "It's a fantastic feeling, knowing I have achieved something and probably saved somebody's life.

"I think without any sort of talk-down he would have just gone into the ground and that would have been the end of it."