PALM BEACH, Fla. – A passenger with no flying experience landed a small plane on May 10 in West Palm Beach after the pilot suffered a medical emergency, and now the two are coming together for the first time since that flight.
Passenger Darren Harrison and pilot Kenneth Allen reunited on Thursday at the Palm Beach Gardens Medical Center, where Allen spoke for the first time since he had that medical emergency on the plane.
“The first thing I said to Darren when I talked to him was, ‘I’m sorry for putting you and your life in danger.’ I’ve got some guilt for that,” Allen said.
Allen was flying two passengers from the Bahamas that day when he lost consciousness.
Dr. Nishant Patel, a cardiothoracic surgeon at Palm Beach Gardens Medical Center, operated on Allen and said his recovery has been remarkable.
“Most patients with this diagnosis, unfortunately, won’t make it to the hospital, and every hour that you have a type A dissection, there’s a 1 to 3 percent increase risk of passing away,” Patel said.
Harrison had no flying experience but was able to take over and pilot the plane after Allen passed out.
Robert Morgan said he was outside the tower, reading a book on a break, when he heard there was an inexperienced passenger flying a Cessna.
Morgan is a flight instructor, with 1,200 hours of flight experience under his belt and 20 years of experience in tower control, so he knew he was the man for the job.
Morgan immediately got in the passenger’s ear, trying to help him get down safely.
“I know God definitely worked his magic to get us to this point right here,” Allen said.
Doctors said it was due to the quick thinking of Harrison and Allen’s great medical team that he was able to make a remarkable recovery.