Kip Powick Posted April 4, 2012 Share Posted April 4, 2012 MILWAUKEE—An 80-year-old woman with little flying experience knew her husband had died after he fell unconscious at the controls of a small plane, yet she remained calm as she landed the aircraft at a northeastern Wisconsin airport, her son said Tuesday.In a phone interview with The Associated Press, James Collins said he’s also a pilot and had helped his mother, Helen Collins, via radio as the Cessna twin-engine plane began running out of gas Monday evening. Another pilot also took to the skies to guide her to the ground at Cherryland Airport, near Sturgeon Bay — about 240 kilometres north of Milwaukee.He said his mother took lessons to take off and land about 30 years ago at her husband’s urging, in case something happened to him, but never got her license. She has flown hundreds of hours by his side.“At one point she didn’t even want the wingman to go up,” he said. “She said, ‘Don’t you guys think I could do this on my own? Don’t you have confidence in me?’ She was calmer than everybody on the ground. She had it totally under control.”Helen Collins and her husband, John Collins, were coming back from their second home in Marco Island, Fla., for Easter, James Collins said. He said his 81-year-old father had a heart attack about seven minutes from landing at Cherryland Airport and had called for his wife before he became unconscious. Helen Collins had called 911 and that’s when everyone came together to help her down.The pilot who helped was Robert Vuksanovic, who lives less than two kilometres from the airport, said Keith Kasbohm, director of Cherryland Airport. After getting the call from Kasbohm, Vuksanovic jumped in another plane owned by the Collins family and flew up to meet the Cessna while instructing the novice on the radio.“He felt it would be easier,” Kasbohm said. “With him alongside of her, he could control her speed and altitude” before she attempted a landing.Collins said his mother knew her husband had died after she unsuccessfully tried to get him back into his seatbelt, which he unbuckled before he collapsed.He said one engine had completely run out of gas and the other had to be close to running out because it was sputtering. The nose-wheel collapsed upon landing and she skidded down the runway about 300 metres, but she worked the rudders to keep the plane straight.“The amazing thing is she landed that plane on one engine,” Collins said. “I don’t know if there are a lot of trained pilots that could do that.”At a news conference Tuesday, Vuksanovic said he also experienced Helen Collins’ confidence, WLUK-TV reported.“She wanted to know if I was confident in her confidence,” he said. “I said, if you’re confident then I’m confident. I think we can do this.”Collins said his mother was hospitalized on Tuesday with an injury to her vertebrae and a cracked rib, but was doing well.He said he stayed calm and focused because he had to help her.“I already knew I lost my dad; I didn’t want to lose my mom,” he said. “It could have been both of them at once.”Collins described his mother’s actions as unbelievable, answering their questions about air speed or the flaps. “You think she had done it all her life.”“Everybody is proud of her,” he said. “I think she is a local hero, for sure.”Torry Lautenbach, whose property is next to the airport, watched her land and estimated she circled the airport about 10 times.“She did a really good job (landing the plane). It was amazing,” Lautenbach said. “It took one bad hop and then it came back down and skidded.”Elizabeth Isham Cory, a spokeswoman with the Federal Aviation Administration, said John Collins had a current private pilot’s license but couldn’t immediately provide any details on how often he needed to get a medical exam. She said pilots can fly until they stop passing medical exams.The Collins family, of Sturgeon Bay, owns a small manufacturing company in Door County, authorities said. John Collins founded C & S Manufacturing in 1962, according to the company’s website. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J.O. Posted April 4, 2012 Share Posted April 4, 2012 What an amazing story. If she could land that airplane on one engine with very little training or experience, imagine what she could do as CEO of a certain troubled company! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vanishing point Posted April 4, 2012 Share Posted April 4, 2012 "I don’t know if there are a lot of trained pilots that could do that.”Ahh....right. Why can't people think about what they say prior to opening their mouths? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kip Powick Posted April 4, 2012 Author Share Posted April 4, 2012 "I don’t know if there are a lot of trained pilots that could do that.”Ahh....right. Why can't people think about what they say prior to opening their mouths?Well you have to think outside the box Do you think a brand new trained PILOT who just got his PPL on a C172 could do that??Do you think a brand new trained glider PILOT could do that ??I think you are thinking about the majority of drivers here, guys and gals that have, perhaps, many hours of multi-engine time ..yes??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seeker Posted April 4, 2012 Share Posted April 4, 2012 Do you think a brand new trained PILOT who just got his PPL on a C172 could do that??Ahhh, yeah, I do.Do you think a brand new trained glider PILOT could do that ??Most definitely, why would you think they couldn't is the question. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Specs Posted April 4, 2012 Share Posted April 4, 2012 Well with ATCs help and a spotter aircraft why couldn' t they? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kip Powick Posted April 4, 2012 Author Share Posted April 4, 2012 Flame away ....... .......I still don't think the newbie pilot who has no twin experience would have much luck doing a SE approach. Was she lucky? Did she have a bit of instruction and "hands on" from her late husband? She had instruction and perhaps she even had "hands-on" time as well. Based on the article she had hundreds of hours watching her husband.....do "newbies" have that valuable time?Yes, she had a "spotter" and help from ATC, maybe the spotter told her about rudder application when one fan quits, maybe her husband showed her. She sounds like she was pretty confident and knew what she was doing.A glider pilot, and I mean a glider pilot that has no "engine time", has no idea about asymetrical thrust, yaw and trim so I would be very doubtful about their capabilities as well....You can believe whatever you want...my belief is that, in all certainty, the outcome based on what I posted in my initial reply, would not have been as good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Specs Posted April 4, 2012 Share Posted April 4, 2012 I was just throwing a playful poke at the experienced multi engine types on here. Now if she was wearing a skirt, well I'm pretty sure most you guys could handle that too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seeker Posted April 4, 2012 Share Posted April 4, 2012 Flame away ....... .......I still don't think the newbie pilot who has no twin experience would have much luck doing a SE approach. Was she lucky? Did she have a bit of instruction and "hands on" from her late husband? She had instruction and perhaps she even had "hands-on" time as well. Based on the article she had hundreds of hours watching her husband.....do "newbies" have that valuable time?Yes, she had a "spotter" and help from ATC, maybe the spotter told her about rudder application when one fan quits, maybe her husband showed her. She sounds like she was pretty confident and knew what she was doing.A glider pilot, and I mean a glider pilot that has no "engine time", has no idea about asymetrical thrust, yaw and trim so I would be very doubtful about their capabilities as well....You can believe whatever you want...my belief is that, in all certainty, the outcome based on what I posted in my initial reply, would not have been as good.Kip, come on. I was a glider pilot before I learned about those noisy fans up front and I understood the rudder trim very well. A glider pilot might not be as quick to get the thing trimmed out for SE flight but it's a simple concept. I bet a glider pilot would have got the airplane onto a base leg, closed the throttle on the other engine, and would have glided it to the thousand foot marks - first try. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kip Powick Posted April 4, 2012 Author Share Posted April 4, 2012 Seeker...let's not turn this into a urinating contest...I say "no" ..you say "yes". You can't prove your point and neither can I......You aren't going to change your mind, I'm not going to change mine, and we both know that opinions don't rule the world.............let it go Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vanishing point Posted April 5, 2012 Share Posted April 5, 2012 Jeez....I make one rare comment on here and this is what it turns into? Now I know why I don't come here very often anymore.I'm happy it worked out as it did. I am sorry the lady's husband passed away but she got him home. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boestar Posted April 5, 2012 Share Posted April 5, 2012 My very first flight in a Twin resulted in a single engine flight and landing and although there was an instructor on board I flew the aircraft to a smooth and successful landing although somewhat nerve racking it was actually not too bad at all after trimming it out. I had under 100 hours at the time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seeker Posted April 5, 2012 Share Posted April 5, 2012 You can't prove your point and neither can I.I might not be able to "prove" my point but I do speak from some experience since I got my glider pilot licence before my PPL and I know that flying a SE twin would be within the capabilities of the average glider pilot but, as you say, my opinion doesn't matter in the least. I'm glad this woman was able to get safely on the ground, too bad the husband didn't make it. BTW, I wonder what his occupation was - the article mentions that the family owned several aircraft? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kip Powick Posted April 5, 2012 Author Share Posted April 5, 2012 ................................................................., I wonder what his occupation was - the article mentions that the family owned several aircraft?http://www.bassetproducts.com/copro.php Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seeker Posted April 5, 2012 Share Posted April 5, 2012 http://www.bassetpro...s.com/copro.phpSeems like a nice place to live - especially if you had a boat!44°48'56.28" N 87°22'51.13" W Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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