Exclusive for Podcrashers:
For the casual traveler, many of us have looked up to the sky and wondered if we have what it takes to fly a plane and land it safely. But could you really do it in an emergency? In this month's Patreon-exclusive episode of Take to the Sky: the Air Disaster Podcast, Stephanie shares the story of two accidental pilots who found themselves flying planes without the right training and experience. Join us to hear the incredible stories of Walter "Taffy" Holden's Lightning flight and Helen Collins' harrowing Cessna 414 landing.Sources consulted for this story:
- CNN: Could you land a plane in an emergency?
- danrostron.com: Wing Commander ‘Taffy’ Holden’s inadvertent flight in Lightning XM135
- Fighter Jet World: Holden’s Lightning Flight: The Story Engineer Who Accidentally Took Off In A Fighter Jet
- 80 Year Old Woman Lands Plane After Pilot Dies - Audio
- Time: Eighty-Year-Old Woman Lands Plane After Husband Dies Mid-Flight
- CNN: Pilot guides 80-year-old through landing
- Fox 6: Door Co. community remembers businessman, pilot who died in air
- BBC: Elderly US woman lands plane after pilot-husband dies
- NPR: LISTEN: Recordings Show How Wife Calmly Took Control To Land Plane
- ABC News: Wisconsin Wife, 80, Lands Plane for Dying Pilot Husband
- Legacy.com: John Collins Obituary
- CBS This Morning - 80-year-old woman takes control of plane mid-air
Credits:
Written and produced by: Shelly Price and Stephanie HubkaDirected and engineered at: Snow Monster Studios
Sound editor: Podcast Engineers
Producer: Adam Hubka
Music by: Mike Dunn
Walter "Taffy" Holden's Lightning, on display at the Imperial War Museum, Duxford Airfield, Cambridgeshire, UK. Source: Wikipedia
Helen Collins' Cessna 414 after landing. Source: CBS News
Walter "Taffy" Holden visiting the plane on display. Source: YouTube
Helen and John Collins. Source: Fox 6 News
