What an incredible story from the UK and well done by the RAF.
When the instruments on Jim O'Neill's four-seater Cessna aircraft became difficult to read, he assumed it was the glare of the sunlight as he flew over north England at 15,000ft. It was only when the dials blurred completely that he realised the full horror of his predicament: he was a solo pilot who had suddenly gone blind.
Struggling with the aftermath of a mid-flight stroke – which had put pressure on his optical nerve and robbed him of his sight in one eye and left him with very limited sight in the other – Mr O'Neill found himself unable to follow instructions from civilian air trafficcontrollers attempting to guide him to the nearest airstrip. Instead, an extraordinary rescue was launched when RAF staff, overhearing the emergency, offered to send a military plane to fly alongside Mr O'Neill and shepherd him in to land, issuing instructions to him over the radio.
Details of the amazing operation were revealed yesterday. Mr O'Neill, 65, a businessman with 18 years experience, was flying from Prestwick airport in Scotland to an airfield near Colchester, Essex on 31 October. At the end of the ordeal, he managed to land at RAF Linton-on-Ouse in North Yorkshire and emerged without a scratch.
Obeying orders to turn left or right and adjust his height and speed, it took seven attempts for Mr O'Neill, who runs a travel and conference booking agency, to manoeuvre his aircraft into the correct position, while a senior RAF instructor flew alongside him at a distance of just 150ft away.
Wing Commander Paul Gerrard, 42, was on a routine training sortie in a Tucano T1 turboprop plane when he received the order to come to the businessman's aid. "For me, I was just glad to help a fellow aviator in distress," said W/Cdr Gerrard. "I was just part of a team. Landing an aircraft literally blind needs someone to be right there to say 'Left a bit, right a bit, stop, down'. On the crucial final approach, even with radar assistance you need to take over visually. That's why having a fellow pilot there was so important."
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