Passenger who landed plane - in flip-flops and shorts - was returning from fishing trip
Wearing only a T-shirt, shorts and flip-flops, Darren Harrison was not prepared for what was in store for him when he boarded a single-engine Cessna to return to Florida after a fishing trip in The Bahamas.
The 39-year-old was one of three people on the plane – along with another passenger and the pilot – as it headed to Harrison's home in the Lakeland area when he was thrust into the harrowing reality that he was going to have to fly the plane and make an emergency landing at Palm Beach International Airport on Tuesday after the pilot fell ill.
The situation became dire almost immediately after the pilot became incapacitated.
According to the FAA, "the pilot fell against the controls, putting the aircraft into a nosedive and sharp turn."
Harrison, realizing the enormity and urgency of the situation, grabbed the controls and pulled the plane back up before getting on the radio and contacting air traffic control in Fort Pierce, about 120 miles southeast of Lakeland.
"I've got a serious situation here. My pilot has gone incoherent. I have no idea how to fly the airplane but I am maintaining (at) 9,100 (feet)," Harrison told Fort Pierce air traffic control at about 11:21 a.m.
At that point, officials got Harrison in touch with PBIA air traffic controller Robert Morgan, a Jupiter Farms resident, who was on a break at the time. From the radar room at the base of the air traffic control tower at PBIA, Morgan was able to talk Harrison through the complicated navigation system and safely land the Cessna 208 Caravan.
Fighter jets also were scrambled while Morgan and Harrison were talking because officials weren't sure if it was a terrorist incident, according to Morgan.
Morgan confirmed to The Palm Beach Post the identity of Harrison and posed for a photo with him after the ordeal. Morgan said Harrison owns a tile company and knew the other passenger on the flight. The other passenger, according to Morgan, knew the owner of the plane.
According to Harrison's company website, Harrison has been in his family-owned flooring industry for more than 16 years. He attended Polk State College in Winter Haven and began working with his father, Dennis, in 2000.
Darren Harrison is now a lead commercial and residential flooring specialist with the company and works on residential and commercial projects throughout Florida, the website indicated.
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Morgan, who is also a flight instructor, explained that there were further complications beyond the condition of the pilot.
He said the digital screen on the plane in front of the pilot was black. He wasn't sure if it was turned off or broken but that further complicated things in the cockpit.
“We’ve never had anything like that. … I felt like I was in a movie,” Morgan told the FAA about the incident.
Often called "Captain Morgan" in the air traffic control room, Morgan has been in air traffic control since 2002 and a flight instructor since 2020.
Morgan said his first instructions to Harrison were to make a slow turn to the north, noting that the shoreline is going to be on the right.
"(Harrison) lined himself up with the runway without too much help on my part," Morgan said, adding that with the help of the other passenger, he found the speed indicator.
"We need to slow you down some," Morgan said he told Harrison. As far as stopping the plane, Morgan was not 100% sure where the brakes were located in the cockpit. He felt fairly certain they were on top of the rudder pedal. He was right.
Morgan saw the altitude drop from 1,000 feet to 600 feet and then to 300 feet. He got nervous when the plane disappeared off the radar. He remembers telling Harrison that the runway was going to look bigger.
"Before I knew it, he was on the ground."
Morgan and Harrison successfully touched the plane down at PBIA at 12:37 p.m.
Morgan called the landing a team effort at the airport.
“Everybody wanted to participate, and came out of the offices to assist in any kind of way.”
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FAA updates pilot's condition
The condition of the pilot who suffered the medical episode is unknown, although the FAA said he is "stabilized." The pilot has not been identified.
It is unclear what caused the pilot to lose consciousness. Morgan, however, said that the pilot was "in his 60s" and had complained of a headache before he passed out.
Palm Beach Post Staff Writers Katherine Kokal, Mike Diamond and Valentina Palm contributed to this report.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Airplane emergency landing in Florida: Passenger who landed plane ID'd
