BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) – There was drama in the sky over Bakersfield Friday afternoon as a small plane — its pilot in distress — was diverted to Meadows Field and successfully landed by its one and only passenger.
The Beech C90-B King Air — a twin-engine turboprop — was headed from Henderson, Nevada, to Monterey when the unidentified pilot suddenly lost consciousness, leaving the lone passenger — a non-pilot — to land the plane himself.
It happened at around 1 p.m. Friday. The pilot experienced some kind of medical event and passed out. The unidentified passenger was forced to take the controls.
Coached from the ground by experienced pilots — at this point we don’t know who or from what vantage point — the passenger turned back toward Bakersfield, which the plane had apparently already passed on the way to its Northern California destination.
One of the first orders of business, once the plane was successfully turned around — was getting the landing gear down. The passenger flying the plane understandably didn’t know how to do that.