A woman with no flying experience landed a small plane safely after her pilot husband had a heart attack mid-flight.
God often helps us in ways we don’t expect, giving us strength to face big challenges. This story reminds us that we’re never alone, even when things seem hopeless. God works through us, giving us what we need in tough times, just like He did for this brave woman.
On October 4, Yvonne Kinane-Wells, 69, faced a scary situation when her husband, Eliot Alper, 78, had a heart attack while flying their Beechcraft King Air 90. The couple, who married in February, were flying from Henderson, Nevada, to Monterey, California, when this happened at 5,900 feet in the air.
Kinane-Wells, who works in real estate, called air traffic control for help. The controllers quickly started guiding her on how to land the plane. In recordings from Inside Edition, we can hear the controller giving her clear instructions.
“We’re going to set you up so that as you level off from your turn, you’re going to be straight in for Bakersfield Airport. Is that alright?” the controller asked. Kinane-Wells, sounding scared but determined, said okay.
Other pilots and controllers cleared the radio so Kinane-Wells could talk without interruption. One controller described her as a “passenger in the cockpit trying to figure out how to fly,” which shows how unusual this situation was.
Following the controller’s directions, Kinane-Wells turned the plane towards Meadows Field Airport in Bakersfield, California. At 1:40 p.m. local time, she did something incredible – she landed the plane safely without any flying experience.
The drama didn’t end when the plane touched down. Emergency vehicles chased the plane down the 11,000-foot runway as Kinane-Wells tried to stop it. The plane finally stopped after going a bit past the runway, but it didn’t crash.
Right after landing, the Kern County Fire Department rushed to help. They quickly took Alper to a nearby hospital. Sadly, despite his wife’s brave efforts and the help from emergency workers, Alper died later, as his real estate office told the Las Vegas Review-Journal on October 7.
Ron Brewster, who’s in charge of airports for Kern County, was amazed by what happened. “It’s to my knowledge unprecedented. I’ve never seen it in my entire career,” he told Inside Edition, showing how special Kinane-Wells’ achievement was.
Let’s pray for Eliot Alper and for comfort for Yvonne Kinane-Wells as she deals with this hard time. May God’s love be with her and everyone affected by this incident.
WATCH: Heroic Woman Lands Plane After Husband Suffers Heart Attack
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