I've loved the story this week about Helen Collins, who landed a twin-engine plane in Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin after her husband collapsed and died.
The media did her a great disservice in originally portraying her as a woman who didn't know how to fly. She did. She'd actually soloed in an airplane (though not a twin) although she never got her pilot certificate.
She apparently did so at the insistence of her husband, who wanted her protected in case something happened to her.
WBAY in Green Bay has made the entire incident available. Click here to listen to it and you'll notice at one point she complained about too many instructions, "and I'm forgetting about flying." A good lesson, indeed, to remember to fly the airplane.
For you pilots who have a non-flying spouse, you should consider the Pinch Hitter Course. It's pretty cheap insurance.
Two things struck me: Helen seemed pretty collected and composed during the ordeal. The people on the ground trying to help were disorganized and could easily have confused someone less prepared.
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