Passenger lands small plane after pilot experiences medical emergency

A passenger successfully landed a small plane Friday after the pilot suffered a medical emergency, the Federal Aviation Administration said.

The twin-engine Beechcraft King Air 90 was en route from Henderson Executive Airport in Las Vegas, Nevada, to Monterey Regional Airport in California, with a pilot and another person on board, the FAA said.

The pilot suffered an unspecified medical emergency while flying, the FAA said, forcing the passenger to take the controls and make an emergency landing at Meadows Field Airport in Bakersfield, California.

The Kern Fire Department told CBS News affiliate KBAX that firefighters were called to a report of a medical emergency on the plane. According to the fire brigade, the pilot was ‘incompetent’. Firefighters saw the plane approach and land safely, and then “pursued” the plane in emergency vehicles down the runway to rendezvous with it.

The FAA did not release the identity of the passenger or pilot or provide an update on the pilot’s condition. The pilot was taken by ambulance to a hospital in the region. The passenger reported no injuries.

The FAA and the National Transportation Security Board will investigate the incident, the FAA said.