In a remarkable feat of courage and composure, a 69-year-old woman with no prior flying experience safely landed a plane in California after her husband, the pilot, suffered a heart attack mid-flight. Yvonne Kinane-Wells, a Las Vegas-based real estate agent, was forced to take control of the aircraft after her husband, Eliot Alper, 78, collapsed at the controls.
Emergency in the skies
The couple had departed from Henderson Executive Airport in Las Vegas on Friday afternoon, bound for Monterey, California, when Alper began to experience seizures at an altitude of 5,900 feet. Faced with a life-or-death situation, Kinane-Wells reached out to air traffic control for guidance on how to land the propeller plane.
Despite never having operated an aircraft before, Kinane-Wells was able to remain calm enough to follow the instructions provided by the air traffic controller. “We’re going to set you up so that as you level off from your turn, you’re going to be straight in for Bakersfield Airport. Is that alright?” the controller said during the harrowing exchange. Kinane-Wells, her voice trembling, confirmed she was ready. Minutes later, she managed to land the plane for the first time in her life at Meadows Field Airport in Bakersfield, California.
A dramatic landing
Upon landing, emergency crews on the ground were ready to assist. Kinane-Wells exceeded the full length of the 11,000-foot runway, skidding slightly off the tarmac before bringing the plane to a halt. Emergency vehicles quickly approached the plane, and her incapacitated husband was rushed to the hospital by the Kern County Fire Department. Alper’s current condition remains unclear.
Kern County’s director of airports, Ron Brewster, described the incident as unprecedented in his experience. “It’s to my knowledge unprecedented. I’ve never seen it in my entire career,” Brewster told the Daily Mail.
Kinane-Wells’ quick thinking and ability to follow instructions in a terrifying situation likely saved both her life and her husband’s, as she navigated what could have been a deadly mid-flight emergency with the guidance of air traffic control. The dramatic landing is already being hailed as an extraordinary example of resilience and calm under pressure.