Controller Talked Down Panicked Student

A New Zealand controller is being celebrated five months after she talked a panicked international student pilot on a solo flight to a safe landing at Dunedin Airport. Airways New Zealand, the country's private airspace management company, presented Kate Lindsey with an award for keeping her cool as the student screamed in terror. "I knew there was a problem as the pilot sounded very panicked and asked to fly directly to the airport," Lindsey told Stuff. She said she spoke slowly and deliberately to the hysterical woman as "it was imperative that my calmness reach them."

The call came in on a slow sunny Saturday and soon pilots in the area started offering help. An A320 captain offered to delay his flight to give the student full access to the airport (he was cleared to take off when the student was still 20 minutes out). A helicopter pilot joined a loose formation with the student's plane and followed her in for what turned out to be a good landing. "The landing was amazing, considering the pressure the pilot was under and that they were struggling to breathe and swallow," Lindsey said. The controller never got to meet the student, who apparently abandoned her pilot dream and went back to her home country.