Passenger makes miracle crash-landing in Martha’s Vineyard after pilot suffers medical emergency

A woman stepped in to land small plane at Martha’s Vineyard Airport on Saturday

A passenger helped land a small plane at Martha’s Vineyard Airport after the pilot suffered a medical emergency (Ray Ewing/Vineyard Gazette via NBC News)

A hero passenger took control of a plane and crash-landed in Martha’s Vineyard after the pilot suffered a medical emergency.

State police are now investigating the incident - which saw the 79-year-old pilot unable to control the small plane during its final descent into Martha’s Vineyard Airport.

Luckily, the quick-thinking passenger took control of the aircraft, which she managed to bring down just outside the airport on a grassy area close to the airport.

“On Saturday, July 15, 2023 at 3:12 p.m. a Piper Meridian Turbo Prop 6 seat plane was reported to have crashed at the MVY Airport,” the West Tisbury Police Department wrote in a Facebook post, adding that the female passenger, 68, managed to land the plane on its belly with no landing gear.

“Both the pilot and passenger were transported to the local hospital,” Massachusetts State Police said in a statement.

“The pilot was then flown by medical helicopter to a Boston Hospital in serious life-threatening condition. The passenger was uninjured; she was evaluated at the Martha’s Vineyard Hospital and released.”

“The crash remains under investigation by the State Police-Oak Bluffs Barracks, the State Police Detective Unit for the Cape and Islands District, and the Federal Aviation Administration.”