Passenger, 68, Lands Small Plane After Pilot Suffers Medical Emergency

A passenger on a private flight from New York to Massachusetts was able to escape a terrifying situation after the plane’s pilot received emergency medical treatment mid-air, authorities said.

The 68-year-old swung into action, taking control of the six-seater plane at around 3.15pm on Saturday after the pilot experienced a “medical condition [the plane’s] approach” to Martha’s Vineyard, acc West Tisbury Police Department.

The passenger crash-landed the plane in a grassy area “on its belly” without a landing gear near the runway at Martha’s Vineyard Airport, Massachusetts State Police said in a news release.

The plane’s “hard landing off the runway” caused the left wing to “break in half”, The MSP said.

The pilot had to be ejected from the plane after the incident and was in “serious life-threatening condition,” state police said. He was medically flown to a medical facility in Boston for treatment.

It is unclear whether the pilot’s condition was the result of an unspecified medical emergency or also injuries sustained in the crash.

“The passenger is unharmed; she was evaluated at Martha’s Vineyard Hospital and released,” the MSP added.

Martha’s Vineyard Airport did not immediately respond to HuffPost’s request for comment.

Police said the airport had reopened its short runway and was “slowly resuming operations”.

The crash is being investigated by the state police barracks in Oak Bluffs, the Cape and Islands State Police Detective Unit and the Federal Aviation Administration, according to MSP.

The National Transportation Safety Board is also investigating the incident, the Federal Aviation Administration said in a statement to CNN.