I would imagine had he been totally blind and without autopilot already engaged (or extremely trusting of his sense of touch in order to engage it) then he would've ended up in a spiral dive within minutes, if not seconds.

VFE.

James did really well. I haven't spoken to him about it yet, but I'm very glad to see he got down in one piece!

Nice one fella!

I believe it was a turbocharged 182, so more than capable of those altitudes.

From a post in the Mil thread running on the same event

excellent! well done to all

I was at Full Sutton at the time and took the call on the landline from Linton. They said he had trouble with glare and wanted to get him to us. He had called a pan then downgraded it himself. He flew twice through our overhead at 1000-1500 ft from the W and again from the SE and could not see us . He was straight level, in cruise, no flaps, good viz. He never switched to our A/G, very wise 'cos it was only me there.

Chap from Linton on the phone sounded like they did this sort of thing every day.

Excellent job all round, hope he recovers fully.

Ive just seen it on our local news up here in Edinburgh. Good job by all those involved:ok:

What a fantastic story with a great outcome after months of lousy news!

Well done to both the RAF and the pilot. I hope he will make a total recovery.

Truly sensational this, blind or blurred, no matter, to think the RAF is able to do this in such a calm and solid way means we DO have an angel in the sky!

I was truly moved when i heard the radio recording.

First Lewis Hamilton wins championship, then Obama gets himself elected president then this. If I believed in a god I would thank him/her.

BBC NEWS | England | North Yorkshire | Blind pilot guided to land by RAF

This previously posted link now has an interview with his son.

TV reporting that the sight in one eye was gone and very limited / blurred vision the other eye but able to just about make out the runway at approx 400 meters.

( his eye sight is improving)

From the RAF:

RAF Linton-on-Ouse - News and Weather

Stunning job.

I had wondered
 

What would I do if I became blind for who knows why.
It's incredible to see that this worked out harmlessly.

As to the media, the person could see but VERY VERY limited. The point at which he saw the runway was apparently just before touch down?

1/60

Very well done to all concerned
 

...... and best wishes for a speedy recovery to Mr. O'Neill.

Just an observation though (possibly only relevant for informational purposes, to any lurking journo's), but it would have been either a VERY BRAVE or VERY FOOLHARDY pilot to take a Cessna through the Vale of York AIAA at 15,000ft! :eek:
I'm sure we'll find out eventually what the actual facts are once the official incident report is published, though.

Thumbs up to the RAF guys, great job :ok:

The BBC have posted an audio clip of the RTF...

BBC NEWS | UK | Talking down the blind pilot

Yes, a good job done by the RAF...
But some of the repondents here are as bad as the Journos, if not worse!!!!
Lets wait and see what really happened...
UV

The recording
 

shows just how bad the situation was, the pilot couldn't see the runway at all (in otherwise good visibility conditions one assumes) until basically when he was touching down. Definately worth listening!

I would have thought that losing your eyesight is a very distressing situation at best.

Even safely on the ground I think it would cause panic in most of us.

Well done to all concerned.

Again reported facts are confused,15000ft or 5000ft, Cessna basic or Turbo, vision blind or restricted, Mayday or PAN, RAF Tucano specially modified for incident, missed radar solo approach at York.
It has been demonstrated that experienced pilots (road or air) can achieve world records if accompanied by sighted 'navigators' alongside.
A result in this case, I guess the RAF pilot will get an extra Xmas card, at least and James will be thankful it was only a CVA, not a heart attack!

Well done both!

Hats off to both the chaps involved, a job extremely well done.

I had to chuckle at the Cessna pilots remark on sighting the runway " am I cleared to land" :ok: that would have probably been the last thing on my mind in the circumstances, your professionalism shone through Sir.

A remarkable day after the incidents over the last few weeks.

What a wonderful outcome for all concerned. The incapacitated pilot was so cool and focused and the shepherd did a super job and in both cases the training shone through (as well as experience of course). Why then do I find it a little bit disingenuous for some to suggest the RAF chap get a medal for his efforts. He did a SUPERB job but surely not to warrant a medal! This is being suggested on the mil thread about the incident.