Passenger, 68, Lands Small Plane After Pilot Suffers Medical Emergency

A passenger on a private flight from New York to Massachusetts maneuvered her way out of a terrifying situation after the plane’s pilot suffered a medical emergency mid-air, authorities say.

The woman, 68, sprang into action by taking the controls of the six-seater plane around 3:15 p.m. on Saturday after the pilot experienced “a medical condition upon [the plane’s] approach” to Martha’s Vineyard, according to the West Tisbury Police Department.

The passenger crash-landed the plane into a grassy area “on its belly” without landing gear near a runway at Martha’s Vineyard Airport, the Massachusetts State Police said in a press release.

The plane’s “hard landing outside the runway” caused the left wing to “break in half,” MSP said.

The pilot had to be extricated from the plane after the accident and was in a “serious life-threatening condition,” state police said. He was med-flighted to a medical facility in Boston for treatment.

It is unclear whether the pilot’s condition was a result of his unspecified medical emergency or also from injuries sustained in the crash.

“The passenger was uninjured; she was evaluated at the Martha’s Vineyard Hospital and released,” MSP added.

Martha’s Vineyard Airport did not immediately respond to HuffPost’s request for comment.

Police said the airport has reopened its short runway and is “slowly continuing operations.”

The crash is under investigation by the State Police-Oak Bluffs Barracks, the State Police Detective Unit for the Cape and Islands District and the Federal Aviation Administration, according to MSP.

The National Transportation Safety Board is also investigating the incident, the Federal Aviation Administration told CNN in a statement.