From today's Adelaide Advertiser:
A YOUNG pilot who made an emergency landing in central NSW after an elderly passenger tried to cut the light plane’s engine has been praised for his quick thinking.
Police are investigating the mid-air drama after the 23year-old was forced to land the single-engine plane in a paddock near Oberon at 3pm on Monday.
The 82-year-old passenger reportedly flicked a lever to shut down the engines of the four-seater aircraft and seized the controls during the charter flight.
The pilot wrestled with the man and restrained him, then sent out a distress call before making the landing.
The elderly man had booked the flight with Australia By Air from Sydney to Cowra. When the plane was over central NSW, the passenger, who was sitting next to the pilot, tried to take control of the aircraft, said Basair Aviation College’s David Trevelyan yesterday.
Well my eyes must be deceiving me - I could have sworn that the old girl had two engines the last time I saw her!
DF.