{"id":21826,"date":"2013-10-09T21:38:20","date_gmt":"2013-10-09T21:38:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/thomasjpitts.co.uk\/wp\/?p=21826"},"modified":"2013-10-09T21:38:20","modified_gmt":"2013-10-09T21:38:20","slug":"day-282-a-busy-day-a-japanese-memory-an-amazing-story","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thomasjpitts.co.uk\/wordpress\/2013\/10\/09\/day-282-a-busy-day-a-japanese-memory-an-amazing-story\/","title":{"rendered":"Day 282: A Busy Day, A Japanese Memory & An Amazing Story"},"content":{"rendered":"

Today was Parent’s Evening at school – a busy day which totally drains me as the constant thinking and talking just wears me out!<\/p>\n

Upon getting home I had a lovely tea made by Mrs Pitts and then caught up on some TV<\/a>. Right now, Sky F1 is showing the 1998 Japanese Grand Prix<\/a>, the title deciding race of that season. It’s amazing just how much I remember from it: Ralf Schumacher<\/a>‘s engine blow up, Michael Schumacher<\/a> performing poorly (as he always did when under title deciding pressure – remember this was before he dominated the early 2000s but after his titles of 1994\/5 and near miss of 1997). The other striking things are the differences in the cars, the grooved tyres from a Bridgestone\/Goodyear tyre war and the differences in sound. The engines make a completely different noise. Thoroughly enjoyable. And it’s not ridiculous o’clock in the morning – I recall that watching races at that time (often 3\/4am), as a 15 year old, being very hard!<\/p>\n

On my way home though, I heard a story on the radio that utterly intrigued me. This was old news to Mrs Pitts, but totally fresh to me:<\/p>\n

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A passenger who was forced to land a light aircraft after his pilot fell ill at the controls said he panicked and then just thought of survival.<\/p>\n

John Wildey landed the plane at Humberside Airport<\/a> on Tuesday night, under the guidance of instructors called in by air traffic controllers.<\/p>\n

The pilot, who has since died, had collapsed in the cockpit.<\/p>\n

Mr Wildey, 77, told BBC News<\/a> he “just wanted to keep going, to get down”.<\/p>\n

‘Controlled crash’<\/strong><\/p>\n

Mr Wildey is a flying enthusiast but has never had a lesson.<\/p>\n

He said he “had plenty of doubts [about whether I’d survive], because I just didn’t know what was going to happen”.<\/p>\n

“Luckily [the instructors] were talking to me on the radio all the time, so that was helping me. They gave me confidence.”<\/p>\n

He described how he landed the plane with a “right bump”, saying it was like a “controlled crash, really”.<\/p>\n

\"Plane<\/div>\n

Mr Wildey said the pilot, who has not been identified at the request of his family, was a “brilliant” man.<\/p>\n

“We had a good laugh and a chat going out there and coming back and then it all happened,” he said.<\/p>\n

“I really feel sorry for his wife and his relatives, they’re the ones that have actually suffered.”<\/p>\n

Actions ‘phenomenal’<\/strong><\/p>\n

Mr Wildey and his pilot were the only people on board the Cessna 172<\/a> aircraft, which had travelled from Sandtoft Airfield<\/a>, near Scunthorpe<\/a>, to Skegness.<\/p>\n

The men were close to arriving back at Sandtoft when the pilot fell ill and Mr Wildey had to be diverted to Humberside Airport to make his landing.<\/p>\n

He said he was finding it hard to deal with the death of his friend.<\/p>\n

“I didn’t get much sleep last night worrying about, thinking about what I should have done, could have done,” Mr Wildey added.<\/p>\n

Richard Tomlinson<\/a>, a friend of both men, said Mr Wildey was a “hero”.<\/p>\n

He said that “for somebody who is not a pilot but has been around airfields and been a passenger on several occasions to take control is phenomenal”.<\/p>\n

“The man is nothing short of a hero.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Unbelievable.<\/p>\n

More can be found at:\u00a0http:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/news\/uk-england-humber-24457031<\/a><\/p>\n

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