A small plane‘s seated passenger had to take the controls when the pilot passed out in order to crash-land the craft.
On Saturday, the 79-year-old pilot lost consciousness as they descended into the Massachusetts-off-the-coast island of Martha’s Vineyard.
The 68-year-old female passenger sprang into action, stabilising the 2006 Piper Meridian, and made a soft landing on a nearby field.
The passenger was uninjured, but a wing broke off when the small aircraft crashed to the earth.
The pilot was taken to a hospital in Boston in a life-threatening condition.
Footage shows the aftermath of the crash with emergency crews surrounding the plane.
According to NBC Boston, the landing gear had not been released so the aircraft landed on its belly.
Passenger forced to land small plane after pilot ‘passed out’
Both passenger and pilot are believed to be from Connecticut, and set off from West Chester, New York, earlier in the day.
State police, Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board are investigating the crash.
Last year a passenger with no flying experience managed to safely land a small private jet in Florida after the pilot became ‘incoherent’.
Interior Darren Harrison had been heading home from a fishing trip in the Bahamas when the pilot became sick.
He radioed air traffic control who helped him successfully land the aircraft, which was also carrying a second passenger.