SOURCE :AP

British pilot lands safely after going blind mid-air

 
 
LONDON - NOV 08: A British pilot who suffered a stroke and lost his sight mid-flight was talked safely down to the ground by a military pilot, the Royal Air Force has said.

Jim O'Neill asked for help after he was suddenly blinded 40 minutes into a solo flight from Scotland to southeastern England last week. The BBC reported that O'Neill, flying a small Cessna aircraft, lost his sight 5,500 feet (1,676 meters) in the air.

"It was terrifying," O'Neill said. "Suddenly, I couldn't see the dials in front of me."

The air force said in a news release on Friday that O'Neill initially believed he'd been "dazzled" by bright sunlight, and made an emergency call for help. He then realized that something more serious was happening, and said, "I want to land, ASAP."

RAF Wing Commander Paul Gerrard was just finishing a training flight nearby and was drafted in to help the stricken pilot.

"Landing an aircraft literally blind needs someone to be right there to say 'Left a bit, right a bit, stop, down,'" Gerrard said.

"On the crucial final approach, even with radar assistance, you need to take over visually. That's when having a fellow pilot there was so important.

"For me, I was just glad to help a fellow aviator in distress."

O'Neill's son, Douglas, said his father is an experienced pilot who has flown for nearly two decades. The 65-year-old is recovering in hospital where he is beginning to regain his sight.