A Passenger With 'No Idea' How To Fly Managed To Land A Plane After The Pilot Passed Out

Picture this: you and a friend are several hundred feet up in a private plane, enjoying a Cessna ride from a professional pilot.

Then the pilot falls unconscious.

Two passengers found themselves in that terrifying situation near an airport in Palm Beach, Florida, on Tuesday, but one of them was ultimately able to land the aircraft, despite having absolutely no experience.

The passenger can be heard telling air traffic control at Palm Beach International Airport that he has "no idea" how to manoeuvre the plane in audio captured by LiveATC.net and obtained by CNN.

"I've got a serious situation here," the man, whose name has not been released, said. "My pilot has gone incoherent, and I have no idea how to fly the airplane."

The air traffic controller was reportedly also a flight instructor, and he started talking the passenger through the landing process.

"What's your position?" asked the air traffic controller.

"I have no idea," the passenger replied.

The air traffic controller then told the passenger to "try to hold the wings level" and try to descend while following the coast north or south. "Push forward on the controls and descend at a very slow rate."

The plane ultimately made a slightly wobbly but safe landing at the airport, and the other air traffic controllers were very impressed.

"You just witnessed a couple of passengers land that plane," the tower operator can be heard saying, according to CNN.

"Man, they did a great job."

The identities of the passengers were not immediately released, and it's unclear what exactly happened to the pilot.

The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration is investigating, NBC News reports.

This article’s cover image was used for illustrative purposes only.