April 5th, 2012
09:40 PM ET

Gotta Watch: Emergency plane landings

The U.S has entered an unprecedented era of safer skies, according to industry experts, but not every plane landing has been perfect.

On Monday, 2,000 feet above the ground in Wisconsin, an 80-year old woman was forced to land a twin-engine Cessna after her pilot husband lost consciouness. You've "gotta watch" how this gutsy grandmother landed the plane.

Her successful landing reminds us of other daring attempts pilots have made during emergency landing situations. Watch how commercial pilots recently landed their impaired planes in Arizona, New York and Poland.

Elderly passenger lands plane

On Monday, 80-year-old Helen Collins was able to successfully land a twin-engine airplane after her pilot husband fell unconscious at the controls. She landed at Wisconsin's Door County Cherryland Airport. Her husband John died from injuries unrelated to the landing.

US Airways jet crash lands

In January 2009, a US Airways jetliner with 155 people aboard lost power in both engines shortly after taking off from LaGuardia Airport. The pilot, Capt. Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger safely put the plane down in the Hudson River. All passengers and crew survived the splash landing.

Hole forces a Boeing 737 to land

Back in April 2011, a Southwest Airlines plane with a gaping hole in the fuselage made an emergency landing at the Marine Corps Air Station Yuma with 118 passengers on board. No one was injured.

Emergency landing in Poland

Last year, the pilots of a LOT Polish Airlines Boeing 767 couldn't get the landing gear to come down, making the final moments of the flight from Newark to Warsaw a bit frightening for the 210 passengers and 11 crew members on board.

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Filed under: Air travel • Arizona • Gotta Watch • New York • Plane emergency landing • Transportation • Travel • Wisconsin
soundoff (34 Responses)
  1. Jeff Frank (R-Ohio) "Right Wing Insanity"

    I witnessed an emergency landing of a small aircraft at Milwaukee's old Billy Mitchel Field now Mitchel International several years ago.
    Story has it the plane made a short flight heading from an airport west of Milwaukee. The front landing gear was jammed shortly after takeoff because the operator of the towing tractor forgot to remove the towing bar from the front wheels. Kinda weird seeing this plane land with the wheels stuck halfway with a bar of steel hanging out. The plane nosed dived into the asphalt, but the pilot was OK. Needless to say the front of the plane was a little ground up.

    April 5, 2012 at 10:44 pm | Report abuse |
  2. Jeff Frank (R-Ohio) "Right Wing Insanity"

    Thank goodness this woman kept her cool. I'm sure she was very nervous.
    She really has guts alright. Even if there was a little damage, who cares anyways.
    I wonder if her husband is OK?

    April 5, 2012 at 10:50 pm | Report abuse |
    • Andy

      Unfortunately, I heard her husband had suffered a fatal heart attack,

      April 6, 2012 at 5:08 pm | Report abuse |
  3. Mary

    @ Jeff Frank (R-Ohio) "Right Wing Insanity", Sorry to say her husband was pronounced dead at the hospital.
    If ya can watch the video. At one point the pilot who was flying beside her told the people to clear the roads and Helen said "what, you don't have any faith in me" 😉 lol you go grannie!

    April 5, 2012 at 11:44 pm | Report abuse |
  4. hamsta

    The next story cnn will be 3days late reporting is how the gsa had wild parties in which its members where laughing bragging and even making music videos about living it up on the taxpayers dime.thats obamas redistribution of wealth in action.THAT IS EXACTLY WHY OBAMA IS KNOWN AS THE FOOD STAMP PRESIDENT.thats exactly the way welfare recipients act.nice work dumbocrats-socialism rears its ugly head once again.

    April 6, 2012 at 12:26 am | Report abuse |
    • dazzle ©

      Hello to @hamsta, you're up late tonight. I was thinking of you today. I was driving on the I-10 and a van passed me and the name on it was Hamstra Electronics. I hope you have a very blessed Easter.

      April 6, 2012 at 12:39 am | Report abuse |
    • bdub

      LOL... i love delusional obsessed people such as yourself that come to a completely unrelated post to vomit your nonsense.

      April 6, 2012 at 12:04 pm | Report abuse |
    • Your up in the night

      @bdub...ummm your up in the night, his post is VERY relevent to the article and what is happening in the government today!!!

      April 6, 2012 at 2:11 pm | Report abuse |
    • Really??

      @You: how do you figure Obama has anything to do with emergency landings? Maybe on planet You....jeez. some people will post anything just to get a reaction...are you hammy's mommy?

      April 6, 2012 at 2:21 pm | Report abuse |
  5. chrissy

    Lmao welcome back hamsta. Youre troll has been having great fun with your name.

    April 6, 2012 at 12:35 am | Report abuse |
    • dazzle ©

      @bdub or whatever handle you're using this minute, at least address the person to whom you are speaking.

      April 6, 2012 at 1:06 pm | Report abuse |
  6. chrissy

    One time the flight I was on had to make an emergency landing because I soiled myself just after take-off...and I forgot to wear my Depends diaper.

    April 6, 2012 at 1:30 am | Report abuse |
  7. dazzle ©

    Chrissy, did you ever wear a thong on a plane?

    April 6, 2012 at 1:46 am | Report abuse |
  8. chrissy

    Yes I did.
    I even wear a thong over my Depends diaper whenever I root for my Ohio State Buckeyes.

    April 6, 2012 at 1:57 am | Report abuse |
    • dazzle ©

      Really, Chrissy, that must be very uncomfortable. I never knew you lived in Ohio.

      April 6, 2012 at 2:00 am | Report abuse |
  9. Superman

    Does anybody remember themovie the wrangoliers i think it was a stephen king movie? The one were thebeasties ate the airport. Every time i get on a plane i think of that movie

    April 6, 2012 at 2:01 am | Report abuse |
  10. dazzle ©

    Boring....

    April 6, 2012 at 2:05 am | Report abuse |
  11. Larry

    One thing I learned in training many, many years ago was flying was easy, landing takes some skill. Bless this woman, sorry to hear her husband died.

    April 6, 2012 at 9:29 am | Report abuse |
  12. Farty McCloud

    I once had to land an airplane after my noxious gas knocked out the pilot on a small Cessna. He recovered after we opened the door on the ground.

    April 6, 2012 at 10:57 am | Report abuse |
  13. chrissy

    not me @ l:30, l:57 morons.

    April 6, 2012 at 11:32 am | Report abuse |
  14. chrissy

    not me @ 11:32. Idiot

    April 6, 2012 at 11:44 am | Report abuse |
  15. Jay

    IIronic article given what just happened in Virginia. Cnn should be taking this down (or off the homepage) any moment now...

    April 6, 2012 at 1:34 pm | Report abuse |
    • patiat

      That's not irony. It's coincidence. What would be the point of taking the article down?

      April 6, 2012 at 1:49 pm | Report abuse |
    • reallyamused

      I don't understand why you think it should be taken down?

      April 6, 2012 at 3:02 pm | Report abuse |
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