A small four-seater Beechcraft Duchess plane had to make an emergency landing in a paddock in Sydney, Australia, on August 25, due to odd behaviour of an 82-year-old man on board.
The plane was chartered by the old man for a business trip from Sydney suburb of Bankstown to Cowra. According to the Acting Inspector Gareth Smith, the man started acting erratically mid-air. “The pilot said that he started grabbing the controls, turning off fuel lines, and turning buttons randomly on and off,” he said.
The 23-year-old pilot had to fight and restrain the elderly passenger to control the plane for emergency landing. The old man sustained head and facial injuries in the process and was transported to hospital.
The charter company Australia by Air later said in a statement, “The pilot displayed excellent airmanship and skill during the landing, and we thank him for his professionalism.”
Police are investigating the incident.
Frontier Airlines flight F9-688 made an emergency landing in New Orleans, Louisiana, on May 27th.
United Airlines flight UA-71 made an emergency landing in Amsterdam, Netherlands, on January 19th.
Boliviana de Aviacion flight OB-314 had to divert and make an emergency landing in Cochabamba, Bolivia, on February 6th.
Delta Airlines flight DL-45 had to return and make an emergency landing in Dublin, Ireland, on September 30th.