An aviation student won high acclaim in his first sortie for successfully landing a light aircraft after his teacher died while flying over an airport in Western Australia.
An audio recording of trainee pilot Max Sylvester was released yesterday as he spoke with the air traffic control tower at Gandakot airport in the southern suburbs of Perth.However, the recording revealed that he was remarkably quiet after he found out that his mentor on the plane was unconscious on their dramatic flight the day before.
The air traffic controller instructed the trainee pilot to rotate by plane over the airport while informing him of landing procedures.
The trainee pilot landed the aircraft - a Cessna - close to excellence, and stopped the plane far from the main runway, although emergency vehicles rushed to the place to provide assistance.