Passenger Lands Plane Update: Pilot Who Collapsed Pronounced Dead, Cause of Death Unknown (VIDEO)

Oct 09, 2013 06:14 PM EDT | Matt Mercuro

A passenger with no flying experience landed an airplane safely at a British airport after the pilot collapsed on Oct. 8.

Police said the plane sent a mayday call as it returned to the Sandtoft airfield in England after the pilot collapsed during the flight, according to the Associated Press.

Flight instructors were able to provide step-by-step instructions to John Wildey to successfully land the plane at Humberside Airport.

"I was concerned because the visibility was getting dark and as the guy hadn't flown an aeroplane before he wasn't sure of his switches in the aircraft, and everything was dark for him as well," he said.

Wildey and the pilot were the only people onboard the small plane, according to the Associated Press.

The pilot was pronounced dead later on that night. The exact cause of his death is currently unknown.

"The passenger flew over the airport a couple of times and was then talked down by two flight instructors, and the emergency services were waiting for them when he landed safely," the airport said in a statement.

Wildey said at first he couldn't reach the brakes and thought he wouldn't be able to stop the plane, but eventually managed to do so at around 7:30 p.m., according to the Associated Press.

An investigation is currently underway to determine what caused the pilot to collapse during the flight.

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