Incapacitated pilot. An amazing rescue. Who gets the credit?

The story from Southwest Florida was harrowing and tragic. Many of you have read the story, but I'll recap briefly.

When Joe Cabuk, the single-pilot of a King Air departing Marco Island, Florida, lost consciousness shortly after takeoff, a private pilot rated passenger, Doug White, was in the right seat. While White had relatively little experience period, and none in multi-engine airplanes or turboprops, he was able to save himself and his family (his wife and two teenage daughters), landing the airplane after a harrowing hour in the air, at Fort Myers. 

Tragically, as you read, rescuers on the ground were unable to revive Cabuk, who died there.

But lives were saved, and that is surely something to celebrate. 

The controllers handling the flight were heroic in their calm and purposeful demeanor. Without their work, the odds of White landing the King Air Safely were very long indeed.

But when it comes to people to thank for the bad day that could have been a great deal worse, White should think back to his primary instructor, who clearly helped him develop the the kind of fundamental skills that allowed him to step up from a Skyhawk to a King Air, a mighty leap by any standard, and get it right the first time. It was, after all, the only shot he had.

The incident made me think of my primary instructors, Sam Hall and Sy Campbell, two great guys who, despite vastly different levels of experience, both knew that what they were teaching me every lesson out would be the foundation upon which my flying career would be built. They stressed the verymost basic elements of flying, because they knew that those were the skills on which all of my future flying would depend.

Years ago, shortly after  I came to Flying, I tried my hand at landing an airplane in the incapacitated pilot scenaro, but in a Boeing 777 sim at United's Denver Training Center. My instructor put me in the left seat and let me figure things out, finding the proper way to use radios that in no way resembled the KX155s in the airplane I flew in real life. I also had to find my own help. Once I'd contacted the controllers, he played the part of Triple-Seven coach, talking me through the procedures and numbers. I did great, landing the airplane at Dulles in a howling crosswind without scratching the paint. I was pretty proud.

Even then I recognized that while my little exercise was instructive--a single engine private pilot really could be talked through landing a big passenger jet--in reality, we knew it was fun and games. Doug White's experience had nothing to do with fun or games. It was life and death.

Despite that ultimate pressure, White was able to save the day. And something tells me that such composure and presence of mind when the chips are down is something for which he can personally take the credit.

Robert Goyer 

Comments

[Matt]

Does credit have to be assigned to one individual? WHo gets credit when an auto racer wins a race, or a gymnast wins an Olympic event?

Usually it's a total team effort. Everyone has to step up and do what the situation requires. Of course, no one in that situation thinks "I'll do this and I'll get a lot of credit". They revert to their training, working on instinct at that moment, both in the cockpit and in the tower.

Everyone involved deserves credit, White's instructor, yes, and even the passangers for staying out of the way and trying to remain as calm as possible, giving White a chance to concentrate.

...and I bet White would be the first to say so.

[McGaughy]

I completely disagree Matt. The PIC did the work and only he had his hands on the controls.

Had this situation ended differently, the FAA & controllers would have certainly given him CREDIT for that.

[Matt]

Lol fair enough, Mc. You got a piont there.

[John Hogan]

Tower - "is the autopilot engaged?"

DW - "It's me and the good lord flying this thing"

... brought a smile to my face while listening to the ATC tape.

[VernM]

You might give a no small amount of credit to the machine and its designers too. The powerful turboprop has good DNA, a good heart and a great record.

[Paul]

As an instructor pilot I have over 2000 hrs in the KC-10 (DC-10-30) were we learn about crew resource management (CRM). It is ultimately the PIC who is responsible for the actions of the crew and final decision as to what to do with their aircraft. That does not mean the PIC is the most knowledgeable or even the most capable. That being said, everyone had a role to play in recovering the King Air.
Doug White did a masterful job managing, be it unconventional, crew. He requested pertinent information when required and assigned or left important tasks to those more qualified. As an example, White left the navigation of the aircraft to the controller.
Doug White gets all the credit for saving the lives of those he could on board, but everyone had a task to do. Mr White made sure everyone did there job!

[ChrisB]

After reviewing the ATC tapes and reading several interviews with Mr. White I am even more impressed with the composure that he exhibited during this crisis. To think that he would have to take over the controls on an aircraft that he was not familiar with after watching a good friend die less than a foot away, and while his wife and two daughters were severley distressed right behind him, and knowing that he had his family's life in his hands had to be almost mind numbing. When I first heard his voice on the tape declaring an emergency and I noticed that southern slang come across I had to smile to myself. It made me think of the Hank Williams Jr. song "A Country Boy Will Survive". Coming from another "Country Boy", you done good son, real good.

[Robert Goyer]

Me too. I played the tape for my wife, a non pilot, who was just as impressed as I was. A job very well done, indeed.