This doesn't happen often, except in Hollywood ("Airport '77", "Airplane!").... .__________________________________________
Flight student landed plane in emergency on Cape Cod
by Dave Wedge . .Sunday, February 10, 2002
As investigators try to determine why a pilot nearly passed out at the controls of a Cape Cod-bound small plane, the young woman who took over and miraculously landed the aircraft - without landing gear - is being hailed as a heroine.
"We are truly amazed at her efforts,'' Cape Air spokeswoman Michelle Haynes said of Melanie Oswalt. "She climbed into the seat and took the controls and landed that plane. It was an extraordinary effort.''
The high-flying drama unfolded around 8:15 p.m. Friday when a Cessna 402 en route from Martha's Vineyard to Hyannis made an emergency landing in a closed Provincetown airport. The pilot of the plane, whose name was not released, "became disoriented'' at the helm and nearly passed out. The pilot was described by Haynes as a man in his 50s with years of flying experience.
Oswalt, who works security for the regional airline, noticed the plane was veering off course and saw that the pilot was in distress.
"She realized he was disoriented and made a determination to land the plane,'' Haynes said.
Oswalt, an aspiring pilot with just 50 hours of training flights under her belt, managed to land the plane on its belly without the use of any landing gear. There were three businessmen on the plane and no one was injured.
The pilot was taken to a local hospital where he was treated and later released.
The pilot was tested for alcohol and drugs but the results won't be known for a week, Haynes said. She also said officials are looking into whether he may have had a medical condition.
"We are now investigating what happened to that pilot. We just don't know what happened,'' she said.
The pilot, who has a clean flying record, has been suspended pending the outcome of an internal probe. The Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board also are investigating the incident.
"He will not fly again until we find out what happened to him,'' Haynes said. "We will not rest until we find out what happened.''
Oswalt takes flying lessons in Chatham and has done several solo landings at the Provincetown airport. The facility was closed at the time of the incident but the airstrip was lit.
"They were all shaken up,'' Haynes said of the passengers. "But they all walked off the plane and were O.K. We're very grateful to Melanie.''
Haynes said Oswalt was "confident'' in her flying skills and is now more eager than ever to earn her pilot's license. Cape Air pilots must log 1,500 hours before they can fly commercially.
"She's a pilot-in-training but I'd say she's well on her way now,'' Haynes said.
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Cape Air is a scheduled operator, see:
<a href="http://www.flycapeair.com/" target="_blank">http://www.flycapeair.com/</a>