Cessna PILOT BECOMES INCAPACITATED IN FLIGHT | Intercepted by FlyDoc Aircraft

[@VASAviation]

*CONGRATULATIONS TO BRISBANE CONTROLLERS AND FLYDOC PILOTS!!!!* Very difficult video to edit. Long audio, long video and long radar visuals trying to have everything perfectly synced with both radar targets displaying so close to each other. Kudos to FlyDoc for helping from the sky recognize the issue and guide controllers on what was going on up there. Kudos to Gold Coast Approach controller for his professionalism guiding DQP to landing with patience and empathy knowing that his medical conditions might have been affected. Perfect example of what aviation is about.

[@MarieInnes]

As always, a fantastic job.

[@kitsaber691]

also, the FlyDoc callsign is used for Australia's Royal Flying Doctor Service. it's possible that there was an actual doctor able to check on the pilot!

[@mynintendogamingfeed5208]

It'd be nice to have the Flying Doctor Service in the US, too; not everyone can rush to a hospital in their land vehicles (cars, ambulances, or otherwise) in time...

[@mandywalkden-brown7250]

Mariel Dunietz - Flying Doctor pilots are often both doctor and pilot. Useful in this instance.

[@VASAviation]

@@mynintendogamingfeed5208 There are lots of Medevac flights in the US

[@marksumner2292]

I’ve done hypoxia awareness training and it’s a very strange feeling. You are vaguely aware something is wrong but you really don’t care. You start breathing faster, sweating and then you start seeing in black and white. Eventually you get tunnel vision. They had us do basic math problems and draw shapes and you laugh because they’re so easy. Everything is great, the world is lovely, you giggle a lot, there’s nothing wrong... Then they make you look at a color chart and turn your oxygen back on. Bam! You instantly recover and go from black and white tunnel vision to full technicolor normal vision in a second! It is trippy AF. You look at your easy maths and perfect triangles you remember drawing and the maths is wrong and eventually trails off to a scrawl, the shapes are incoherent scribbles (but you can remember doing them perfectly). Hypoxia is very, very strange.

[@rayg9069]

Carbon Monoxide poisoning is the same, I know from experience, you know somethings not right but you don't care.

[@MoogieSRO]

Sounds similar to one time I was suffering severe hypoglycemia. Levels were so low I almost slipped into a coma. Vision started to tunnel, but the weirdest thing was everything suddenly sounded like I was submerged underwater. I remember a nurse telling me to lie down on the bed, but it took her a few tries because I couldn't really hear or understand the words. My own voice sounded foreign and muffled, like it wasn't even coming from me. I had the sense that I was fading out, my heart was racing, but I didn't care at all that it was happening. I guess whether it's oxygen, sugar, or anything else the brain needs to live, the results are pretty similar: you slowly turn into a useless potato.

[@Aquavidify]

Not a million miles from Nitrogen Narcosis when breathingh compressed air when scuba diving, visual impairment, loss of time awareness, auditory hallucinations, difficulty performing simple tasks. etc.

[@gonzaloflorescerda]

@@Aquavidify yee, the difference it is various times the atmospheric pressure. thats why scuba diving is so demanding, just as flying but in different aspects. I like them both

[@bjulienber7877]

Wow this is eerie to read. Makes me think of the recent report being release of that DHC-2 that went down in Australia (i think , or NZ?) like a year ago. Turns out it was carbon monoxide poisoning from an exhaust leak making it through a bolt hole in the firewall. What a sad situation, experienced pilot, with a standard CO color changing placard but it didn't help. Anyways ATC and FLyDoc were amazing in this video. Makes me proud to work in this industry ( as a Canadian AME ). Thank you once again VasaAviation.

[@Trek001]

The pilot of FlyDoc 425 needs an air medal - he had somewhere else to be but refused to leave a fellow airman alone I hope he gets a suitable reward

[@QemeH]

Is there an australian citizen among us? If there is, I'd suggest formaly nominating him for a "Commendation for Brave Conduct" or the "Bravery Medal" or some similar award. Not only because he more than deserves it, but also because such airmanship should be hailed as an example for everyone.

[@JoeHupp]

QemeH I’ll look into it... if we can find out his name, it would help

[@wloffblizz]

I mean, I don't disagree and he was great; but he was flying a FlyDoc plane, so probably on the clock & getting paid either way -- it wasn't a private plane having to delay his holiday flight or anything.

[@QemeH]

He was on the clock just as every other line pilot or crop duster, but it is *not* their specific job or responsibility to fly intercept for an out-of-comms airplane. He displayed great flying skills to put his machine that close to the other one, but it wasn't an entirely safe maneuver. For all he knew the other pilot could've yanked the stick in any direction at any moment - especially at the closest approach if he got spooked. The definition of the award is: "an act of bravery that is worthy of recognition" - and flying your plane within single digit yards of an ooc plane that flys erratic just to see if the pilot is there/awake, is cleary a brave act. If it was a fighter pilot whose job it was to intercept planes, I'd be on your side. But this was a medical transport plane, not equipped to do what he did.

[@TheMDmos]

@@QemeH I disagree. Although noteworthy, I don't think his actions warrant a medal or commendation of bravery. I think this wont be awarded even if nominated as i doubt the review board would pass it.

[@ghstark]

Quite riveting. I found myself shouting "Don't let him go to Redcliffe, make him land!" and then they did. Fantastic teamwork!

[@zackaplowitz]

Yeah same, I was shocked he was going to be allowed to continue

[@chrisschack9716]

They might not have been able to tell him to land, but they suggested it firmly enough for him to listen...

[@grahamtudman35]

Redcliffe is a nice place. The Bee Gees came from there.

[@ameralhamvi5680]

Same

[@afd33]

I think the pilot didn't really get it until the controller actually told him, hey you don't sound so good and you were silent for a long time. The controller was doing what a copilot would be doing practicing crew resource management. First question the pilot to try and get him to figure it out himself. Next, lay it all out for him. Tell him hey, this is what the issue is and what I think we should do to solve it. Third, is to take action, which of course ATC can't do over the radio.

[@c.j.1089]

Just in case you were wondering, "The ATSB found that the pilot was likely experiencing a level of fatigue due to inadequate sleep the night before and leading up to the incident. Further, operating at 11,000 ft with intermittent use of supplemental oxygen likely resulted in the pilot experiencing mild hypoxia. This likely exacerbated the pilot’s existing fatigue and contributed to the pilot falling asleep."

[@pdquestions7673]

yep... that sounds exactly right

[@childofcascadia]

So thats why they kept having flydoc say oxygen oxygen oxygen. If he was slightly hypoxic that could have snapped him aware enough to put on his mask. Mild hypoxia is a weird thing tho. You dont realize you are impaired when you have it. DQP still sounds slightly impaired at points when he is talking, like at 10:33 11:07 and 12:01. He has that "slowed down recording" speech effect mildly hypoxic people get. But he probably doesnt even realize it and thinks hes fine. Great job by the atc getting him on the ground and convincing him he shouldnt fly to redcliffe.

[@darkarima]

Imagine if they hadn't politely just-shy-of-insisted that he land. In the heated cockpit (the reason he gave for falling asleep) and low oxygen, he would have been dead asleep by the time he passed over Redcliffe... then just plain dead no more than an hour later. ( ; _ ; )

[@Hartbreak1]

Yeah just saw this and it seemed to me that it was a bit more than hypoxia, even at lower altitudes it seems that he was still a bit out of it. Good thing that ATC insisted on bringing him to land in a closer and more secure place. Thanks for the info.

[@madiis18account]

@@childofcascadia He legit said he felt fine and ATC was immediately like lol ok no ur not

[@GreenCrim]

Redcliffe is an uncontrolled GA airport. 720 meter strip, with water at either end, no nav aids or approach lighting. Definitely a better idea to land at the Gold Coast's nice long wide strip with a tower and emergency vehicles.

[@feralbluee]

OMG - that would have been crazy! thanks for the info 🌷🛬

[@gdofred]

The controller was definitely wise to insist on landing at Gold Coast. I don't think the pilot realized he was impaired until he was told that he had been out of communication for so long. I don't think he cleared up until he was down to 5000'. FlyDoc 425 had obviously become invested in the outcome of this incident and also felt he was the person "on site" who could make the best assessment of what was happening. I think if I were DQP, I would offer to pay his fuel bill (or perhaps buy his dinner if paying for fuel wasn't really an option in this case). Thanks for the edit work!

[@mandywalkden-brown7250]

He’s a Frying Doctor, so his response is pretty much expected.

[@dw7401]

No dinner with this guy...what would you talk about?🤔

[@653j521]

@@dw7401 Near death experiences?

[@dw7401]

@@653j521 Does that really need to be discussed? That's exactly my point...

[@Andreas-du7eg]

What is a frying doctor?

[@gervanwilliams1409]

This is amazing professionalism by ATC. Their concern for this pilot is overwhelming. Their insistent (or strong advisement) for him to land sooner rather than continuing for better in consideration of his slow communication shows how well trained these folks are and how human they are. I had tears coming to my eyes listening further. ATC deserves recognition for their service.

[@JurgenADV]

Gervan Williams - near landing the gently phrased query about hearing alarms- what an outstanding professionals Gold Coast and all involved are.

[@PikalaxALT]

Brilliant airmanship from all who responded.

[@orbitingeyes2540]

Yes indeed. I used to transcribe 160-track audio tapes for air accident investigations at SLC ARTCC. Very glad this wasn't another one.

[@shameerxperiaz7919]

This is why the aviation field and air traffic controllers are the top in professionalism as well as in humanitarianism... ❤

[@kobiemelverton2231]

aussie controllers are always incredibly polite and professional

[@DiRECs]

The plane might have endurance mate, but you definitely don't!

[@PassiveSmoking]

The plane was borderline at best for its endurance. If you're supposed to maintain a 30 minute reserve for emergencies he would have arrived at the destination with only his reserve + 10 minutes. A pilot that's thinking clearly would find that margin far too thin for comfort, especially when there's an airport right there he can land at right now. The fact he was even considering to try it anyway suggests he wasn't thinking clearly. That and his slow speech pattern, apparent confusion and the need to be prompted multiple times are all indicative of oxygen starvation. Also, if he's hypoxic he could have easily misread his fuel gauge and have reported an incorrect endurance figure. If you're in that kind of a mess, get down where you can. Landing when you don't have to might be embarrassing but it's still better than not landing when you do have to.

[@geoffroberts1126]

@@PassiveSmoking 45 min statutory reserve in fact. Plus a (I think) 15% variable reserve if IFR, plus fuel to destination and/or alternate depending on weather etc. 30 min flight time to Redcliffe, he had 70 minutes total endurance (assuming his estimate was correct) that's 75 minutes right there. No, definitely not enough fuel.

[@Musikur]

@@geoffroberts1126 Yeah, and assuming his estimate was correct is a pretty big if in the circumstances considering that as per his flight plan ATC calculated he had only 60 minutes like five minutes before that.

[@orion789]

I suspect the controller actually provided DQP the option of continuing to destination to determine the level of thinking. As soon as DQP suggested they'd be able to continue as normal, control would have realised that all judgement was incapacitated and immediate landing warranted. The controller was brilliant and 425 a saint.

[@VASAviation]

I don't believe he even knew he had passed his destination by more than 100NM

[@orion789]

@@VASAviation yup. Hypoxia is really frightening. To so slowly lose cognitive ability such that you don't know it's happening, and yet to be technically awake and inconsistently responsive. It's I think, the most frightening aspect of flying.

[@Yotanido]

@@orion789 It might not even be all that slow. The problem with losing cognitive ability is that you lose the very thing you need to detect it.

[@joediver7669]

I was imagining the controllers were checking with a higher authority to make the call/decision to force him to land. If he had not responded to the polite request I think he would have been told he has to.

[@beeble2003]

"I suspect the controller actually provided DQP the option of continuing to destination to determine the level of thinking." No, I don't think that's it. ATC doesn't generally have the authority to order a pilot where to go, so the most they can do is strongly advise DQP to land at Gold Coast. In general, they prefer the pilot to make their own decision, so step 1 is to put the idea in the pilot's head that they should land at Gold Coast, by asking if they want to do that. If that doesn't work (and it doesn't), basically all they can do is suggest and then state more and more strongly that it really, really would be a good idea to land at Gold Coast.

[@hammrtim1]

Seems like hypoxia. He became more coherent as the altitude decreased.

[@Boffin55]

Given it was only 11,000ft, I would guess Carbon Monoxide, a slight exhaust leak into the cabin ?

[@AKStovall]

I was just about to comment that

[@phapnui]

@@Boffin55 Doesn't anything over 10,000 for longer than 15 minutes invite hypoxia?

[@TheRealTaco]

@@phapnui I mean mountaineers climb 20k mountains without O2 masks

[@P4hko]

@@TheRealTaco very different walking up a mountain slowly and flying up fast

[@lukewalker3905]

When an F/A-18 isn't available for an intercept, just use the local flying doctor service. Welcome to Australian ATCs

[@rossmcdonald2486]

Next well use the westpac choppers

[@dshack4689]

half wonder if an F/A-18 can "keep up" (fly slow enough) with VH-DQP... ;-)

[@titanicseaturtle3808]

Next well use United airlines to kick em out the sky

[@MattCoughran]

I Believe there was a wedgetail on standby at YAMB.

[@GottHoldNicetomeet]

@@dshack4689 Well the hornets could fly Snake lines and that up to 120knots i guess comes up how slow the cesna was. I mean the 18 is known for his stupid high aoa

[@juro6]

"We prefer ..." in ATC speak is "you are going to" :)

[@catgoesgaming]

We prefer Brazil

[@PilotPlater]

controller without a doubt saved this man's life in my books

[@flagmichael]

The pilot was on track for flying until fuel exhaustion, probably regaining some awareness about the time of impact. Without the controller's intervention it would have been a tragedy.

[@Steve211Ucdhihifvshi]

They are all a really great bunch of people there!

[@rickborrettjr6810]

@@flagmichael quite likely unfortunately

[@southjerseysound7340]

Both the pilot and atc deserve to be recognized. Between atc noticing that something was wrong and the flying doc service pilot,this pilot is very lucky. Hypoxia is no joke and even though we had hypoxia training in the air force, it came damn close to getting me. I had a malfunction in my oxygen mask that was very small and didn't show up preflighting the gear. But it was enough for me to go from ok to confused, careless and nearly blackout in minutes.

[@ternak001]

and flight 425 was the guardian angel

[@2011blueman]

Great example of what hypoxia can do. You can hear him getting better as he descends.

[@Frellnikky]

Why didn't they direct him to descend immediately?

[@jcburleigh]

@@Frellnikky I think that's what "Oxygen! Oxygen! Oxygen!" was intended to convey, but am not sure, and I was wondering the same thing. Maybe they didn't want to rush into an unconfirmed diagnosis and convince a pilot to leave straight-and-level flight before being sure that the altitude, not something else, was the problem?

[@hunterra217]

@@jcburleigh well once he came to they had him turn towards Gold Coast and descend, I think them saying oxygen was their last ditch effort to get him to realize something was wrong, so even if he wasn't able to communicate, he'd descend until he could.

[@alexdoan273]

@@Frellnikky hastily directing an impaired person to descend may cause them to nosedive the plane. He might get better at lower altitude but there might not be enough time to recover...

[@toranine09]

@@Frellnikky the above, plus rapid descent can cause further medical issues if he’s been out of it for something like an hour by the point they get a response out of him

[@eco2geek.]

That controller was a goddamn diplomat, getting DQP to buy in to landing at Gold Coast (and getting the other aircraft to monitor). Wow

[@flagmichael]

He sure knew how to handle the obviously impaired pilot without the conversation going pear-shaped. "Oh, yeah? Who made _you_ the boss of me?"

[@Nardur12321]

I also think the pilot realizes deep down that something might be wrong, which is why he does not make much of a fuzz about it.

[@Lithane97]

I think it really clicked when atc made it clear that he had been out of communication for awhile.

[@Yora21]

You can't force a pilot to do anything except shooting down his plane. And giving a pilot orders to do thing when you don't see his plane could easily make things even worse.

[@firecrow7973]

@@glenturner9857 wouldnt this count as a call out for the RFDS? Im assuming the pilot had a doctor or nurse as a passenger and was talking to them about it.

[@AcerJones21]

I think I might hear "Delta Quebec Papa!" in my sleep tonight lol

[@airmackeeee6792]

Or maybe "standby one..."

[@23kaushikdutta]

In an Australian accent, no less!

[@sarveshk09]

As if the ATC was speaking to and helping his dad! It was so comforting to hear!

[@RaulAyanami]

DQP

[@jemand8462]

I was thinkin the exact same thing! Such a weird call sign, it's like this crappy song you can'T get out of your head for some reason

[@thomasrussell4356]

11:33 That controller was absolute class! So tactful and respectful whilst pressing the point. Props to that fellow. I hope he reads this comment and the other praise under this vid!

[@iatsd]

It's not tact and respect, per se. It's about having to be careful with tone and direction: people that are hypoxic can get quite angry or bloody-minded when given directions so you have to talk then into the action they need to take. As far as they're concerned everything is fine. Good ATC to know that and work the pilot gently in order to gain compliance.

[@flagmichael]

@@iatsd The pilot slurred out that he was feeling fine. Okay then....

[@johnharris7353]

Yes Thomas, God is proud of him!

[@davecarsley8773]

@@iatsd What you just described is called "tact". There was no reason to 'correct' the poster's comment. It's pretty annoying.

[@iatsd]

@@davecarsley8773 Wow. You're actually stalking me? I guess I should feel honoured, but it's a bit creepy really. Oh wait, no it isn't: you're no more than lint. And even then, you're still mistaken (again) and obviously didn't understand what I wrote. Do you work hard at being stupid or does it just come naturally for you?

[@OnlySquid1234]

15:03 I can hear what sounds like a low fuel alarm when DQP is transmitting. That chime indicates that potentially both sides have less than 25 gal (170 pounds) remaining. The Cessna 208 burns around 400 pounds an hour. Props to the controllers for persuading a landing at Gold Field

[@DiCola119]

Oh that's what it is! I just posted a question asking what that sound was. It sounded identical to the autopilot disconnect warning but played for much longer. I guess it's good that I've never heard it

[@nickwallace3510]

Around 340lbs or less remaining would make sense given what he said his endurance was on the radio. Used to be involved with doing scenics in a Caravan (30 or 60mins), often had to brief pax that they might hear the warning but not to worry about it. When you're doing a 1hr or half hour scenic flight on a Cavok day with other options not far you don't take much extra fuel so it often went off.

[@ThePandaKingFTW]

His hypoxia probably made him read his gauges wrong or calculated wrong. Glad they made him land sooner

[@Gamecockinnc1]

Anakin Skywalker I appreciated the way the ATC presented it as a choice at first but after he stated how long DQP had been out of communication and stated landing at the GC as a statement no longer giving him the option.

[@Gamecockinnc1]

Anakin Skywalker Was that the same chime around 14:50-14:51 too?

[@d3Rm0Nk]

"Yeah I'm feeling fine" *doubt intensifies*

[@andrewd1455]

Reminded me of the last scene in Hot Shots where sheen is coming in to land with no engines, gear, or wings, yet cool as a cucumber.

[@cocouwu4765]

pressing x to doubt

[@jackhammer5468]

That is a symptom of the hypoxia. He said he was feeling fine but he wasn't. It's too bad we don't know what really happened although the hypoxia seems like the likely pause.

[@Milamberinx]

I think being told he'd been off radio must have jolted him awake a bit.

[@chrisgould101]

Yea na mate I'm sweet as

[@paulnieuwkamp8067]

I'm tearing up here at the realization just how many people are coordinating here with one goal and one goal only: to get this one guy safely on the ground. The world could learn from that...

[@hpekristiansen]

I would have just watched the spot on the monitor until it collided with something. You can sleep safe at night knowing that I am not ATC or anything where life saving is on the agenda.

[@glenmcgillivray4707]

Atc are there to help. Some days they frustrate you. Sometimes they hold you because of your mood. Sometimes they treat you poorly until they discover you are a student learning the ropes. But all of them know, that their job, their biggest job, is to guide several tons of metal lumbering around the sky at hundreds of kilometers per hour, to slow down safely and without damage onto their runway, safe and sound. It isn't always easy, and honestly if it weren't for the squishy vulnerable apes mucking about inside of these collosal metal beasts, they wouldn't put in as much effort. Safety is their ultimate goal, for everyone involved in aerospace. Because flying is remarkably safe, the problem is where flying intersects the ground, usually described as landing.

[@keegan_bakker]

This is one of the beautiful things about the aviation community (globally).

[@nothingtoseehere1221]

@@glenmcgillivray4707 intended landing or otherwise lol

[@glenmcgillivray4707]

@@nothingtoseehere1221 occasionally incidents occur well prior to 'unintended landings' stuff like loss of pressure knocking out all passangers and pilots. Although we've heard tales of aircraft on cruise control with fighter escorts where they spot passangers awake but trapped in the back unable to reach the cockpit. Frankly I wonder if we need a military override which can reprogram the autopilot with codes held by the company on the ground, so someone watching the plane can fly them low enough to the ground to help everyone recover from loss of pressure and away from local mountains.

[@AxCYeR]

i was listening to this while cooking and all i could hear was DELTA QUEBEC PA-PAAA

[@istra70]

Coincidentally in some countries PA-PAAA means..... by by.....

[@aengberg1]

That controller was superb... you hear other controllers talking to pilots who are obviously distressed / disorientated yet they allow the pilot to call the shots. Between this controller and FlyDoc they, without a doubt, saved this pilots' life. Brilliant.

[@tywheeler7131]

This would never happen in most US airspace. There would be a "say your intentions" to remove their responsibility.

[@milankowww]

For a moment the ATC fully expected him to crash. You can hear the heavy pause as he composes himself around 16:30 to sound calm, and the sigh at the end of the sentence. It's after 16:22 "you're just about to land and I can hear lots of alarms!" when he gets the reply "everything's fine". I could NEVER be an ATC. Deep respect.

[@krubokrobu]

Yeah that minute is one of ATC's strongest performances in the video, where he essentially runs his own checklist - "do you have the airfield in sight", "check your speed", "join final", "cleared visual approach 32, report established on the PAPIs", "confirm you are established on the PAPIs", "commence descent to landing" - so that as much is under control as possible before he calls "cleared to land".

[@davidmichael5573]

I caught the alarms going off too as thinking his speed had dropped to low or that was the gear horn going off. Couldn’t tell which.

[@bhughes1986]

David Michael fuel

[@davidmichael5573]

Ben Hughes how do you get that it was a fuel alarm? He said he still had over an hour of endurance left. They didn’t tell him to land due to fuel they were telling him to land due to hypoxia.

[@TrainDriver186]

@@davidmichael5573 Another reply further up, I'm guessing from someone familiar with Cessna alarms, mentioned low fuel warning. And with due respect to the pilot involved, his judgement appears compromised all the way down, I wouldn't be taking his word for it on fuel endurance either. In any case, it provided a good excuse for APP to keep the pilot focused on his approach.

[@kozmabalazs]

One of the finest and most helpful ATC I've ever heard on VASAviation (though I remember that other Australian emergency when the airport remained open for that one last aircraft in need). Guy is on the spot with possible causes, warns pilot for speed and alerts, and what I really haven't heard a lot, coordinated with tower to be able to give the landing clearence. Also the amazing coopeartion with the other aircraft. Like Kennedy Steve (almost) stated once, good combination of brave aviators and skilled controllers.

[@bunkerhousing]

You have a link to the other one?

[@davidpoulin6961]

I agree. Approach coordinating with tower to issue landing clearance was brilliant. Asking pilot to change frequencies on final would not have gone well.

[@MarcovandenHout]

I also liked how the controller asked the other pilot to simply say "oxygen, oxygen, oxygen". Is that something you learn in training?

[@fuzzywuzzyfraggle]

@@bunkerhousing I think they are referring to this on: kzbin.info/www/bejne/q3S0dmptgJ16i9k

[@coorowdarts]

This one is also interesting, kzbin.info/www/bejne/rJ-6l5p-dsmUoNE A student pilot lands a plane after his instructor passes out.

[@Bisonrulz16]

There was something really not right about DQP, really well handled by everyone involved.

[@NickTheKangaroo]

Yes agreed. My guess is he was hypoxic...I noticed DQP becoming more responsive the lower he got.

[@Bisonrulz16]

@SaltLife because when you're hypoxic your brain is starved of oxygen and doesn't work properly. You don't know you're hypoxic, which is why airlines tell you to put on _your own mask_ before helping others. It takes seconds in an extreme enough environment for your brain to be oxygen starved enough to lose the ability to do even a basic kids shape puzzle. The guy probably thought he was fine when he mostly came to.

[@planesguineapigs1712]

Yeah symptoms of hypoxia are similar to being drunk , his speech was slurred and things like that. Also his vision was impaired considering the issues in seeing the airport all lit up. He wasn't fully recovered hence the Caravan's autopilot disconnect alarm going off for a while, he had obviously overrode the yoke to steer the plane but never cancelled the alert.

[@Turliss]

@SaltLife You are taught Hypoxic situations in the Army, my instructor made me compute fuel endurance and what my predicted power would be to land from charts for the helicopter. Even though I could not understand a thing I was reading I still tried to do the math, I was also writing the numbers down on my kneeboard and after I came too it was just a bunch of scribbles.

[@packersfan2884]

DELTA QUEBEC PAPA

[@viktable5955]

**alarms blaring in the background** *whoop whoop* ... yeah no, everything is fine

[@tomboard1]

Yeah..no. Those were low fuel warnings. He seemed to have no idea he was flying on empty.

[@flowerpower8722]

A deadly case of 'she'll be right mate'.

[@zoltanolah7360]

@Brad James I don't know nothing about the flying protocols, but even in case of an emergency declaration shouldn't the ATC be the BOSS in case if the pilot is not well? So getting more drastic actions like ordering to get down at the nearest airport? (Sorry for my English)

[@cebrady]

@@tomboard1 I believe those were flight plan deviation alerts going off that he didn't understand how to silence, not low fuel warnings.

[@Tech_Otter]

@@tomboard1 They were? They sound like the Autopilot Disconnect warning from a Garmin System.

[@joshuamcnickle]

Even though he became coherant by communicating, I think the reason he has such a large trouble sighting the airfield was because of the affect that a lack of oxygen has on your vision at night. Excerpt from the PHAK: "Unaided night vision depends on optimum function and sensitivity of the rods of the retina. Lack of oxygen to the rods (hypoxia) significantly reduces their sensitivity. Sharp clear vision (with the best being equal to 20-20 vision) requires significant oxygen especially at night. Without supplemental oxygen, an individual’s night vision declines measurably at pressure altitudes above 4,000 feet. As altitude increases, the available oxygen decreases, degrading night vision. Compounding the problem is fatigue, which minimizes physiological well being. Adding fatigue to high altitude exposure is a recipe for disaster. In fact, if flying at night at an altitude of 12,000 feet, the pilot may actually see elements of his or her normal vision missing or not in focus"

[@Ninkira]

Cheers! I was wondering about the correlation!

[@davecarsley8773]

This was in daylight. At 7:30 am

[@jnewcomb]

@@davecarsley8773 It's UTC 07:30 AM. It would have been 5:30 PM in Brisbane but your first sentence remains unchanged. Still he would have been flying towards the sun, I doubt that helped his visual acuity.

[@peterpenberthy2918]

The Gold Coast airport is also between two parallel highways so if it was early evening he may have had a hard time picking it out.

[@JWSmythe]

It takes a little while to recover from hypoxia too. He was sounding better after coming down, but he needed to sit at ground level for a while to be clear headed. I suspect FlyDoc wanted to stay around, just to make sure he made it to the ground, and didn't wander off.

[@C2K777]

Now THAT shows a well trained and experienced ATC guy! ATC * fella I KNOW you're not in a good way BUT i'm not even going to make an issue about it let's just have you do some altitude and course corrections as if nothing is wrong......... ....okay so now you're starting to sound more normal i'll use my authority as ATC to imply what I want you to do..... ....okay and now you're getting back to normal i'm still not gonna make a big issue of this so you get all stressed out and other than a cursory mention of things i'll just get you on the ground. Bloody well done. I think with a flight to give live observations it helped for sure but that was a very calm and collected atc guy with exceptional assessment skills.

[@davecarsley8773]

All the training in the world can't teach what he did. That comes from being a decent person.

[@Garythefireman66]

This one was a real nail biter. Glad ATC encouraged him to land ASAP. Great job syncing everything up on this one, and a good ending.

[@Sawta]

Incredible story, and excellent recreation by the channel! Really glad ATC repeatedly "suggest" that DQP land, without yelling or at him or forcing his hand. DQP's head must have been way too fuzzy to be thinking clearly on his own, so the support he got from FD and the tower was an absolute necessity. Just really powerful stuff.

[@BrittMac422]

I've watched, dozens, maybe hundreds, of videos on VAS. This had me biting my nails in anticipation. Good grief! Nice editing to tell the story VASAviation!

[@mikeyoung9810]

Me too. I don't listen often and after that I don't think I want to again. I could of used a spoiler on that one.

[@BrittMac422]

@@mikeyoung9810 I think one point of this is to watch more of these videos. Listening to ATC comm's, or pilot's comm's to ATC, is beneficial. Listen more often! It's rewarding.

[@Recovering_Californian]

I've only had one near hypoxia experience: While flying VFR with my youngest son in a 172 he wanted to go high. We started a climb to 13,000 feet. At around 12,600 I started feeling ill. Headache and a little nausea. Made the decision to descend right then even though we were only a few hundred away from our 13K goal. Felt better once I came down a couple thousand feet. Was an eye opener. I've been to 13K before, briefly, without a problem. That time though it just hit me.

[@szience]

If you are not training in the mountains I would highly recommend to never go above 10k without oxygen and read up on hypoxia again. The human body isn't made for that height without traning while operating a plane. Many of my glider friends start with oxygen much lower by the way.

[@carbon1255]

Your experience is right, it really varies even on the same individual what level you become incapacitated.

[@vanessaruiz4705]

talking from absolute ignorance here. How comes it's only pilots who seem to suffer from hypoxia and not passengers?

[@comment2009]

The calmness of the controller to pursued the pilot to land well done. Appeared he was about to step it to a "you are hereby directed to land NOW at Gold Coast". VH-DQP also owes FD425 a beer at the very least. It appears the Oxygen call got him to respond.

[@jamesphooolanjr1519]

Kj

[@jamesphooolanjr1519]

Y L

[@charlie-qi4rh]

james p hooolan jr I won’t ask what happened here

[@jpmasters-aus]

What does that call do apart from trying to alert the pilot?

[@SleeKInnovationS]

@@jpmasters-aus It is meant to alert the pilot that he is suffering from hypoxia. The effects of hypoxia can go unnoticed by the pilot and produce a euphoric aloofness and eventually the pilot would not be able to recognize that he is in danger or do anything to fix it because he is unaware of his situation. The idea is that shouting "Oxygen Oxygen Oxygen" will trigger an awareness and help to pilot realize that he needs to put on his mask.

[@1fortheroad1]

👏👏👏 Everyone you hear in this video deserve a round of applause, a beer and a medal. Atc for an amazing job coordinating his safe return, flydoc for his great assistance and not wanting to leave him, as well as DQP for somehow realizing something wasn't right and following their instructions and hell, just for making it to the ground period. Well done everyone!

[@tim9s]

One of your best uploads ever. Like the previous poster noted, quite riveting.

[@chadpollman7970]

Whew - a very tense episode, no doubt about it. What a relief to hear it was a safe and happy ending for all involved! And kudos to ATC for effectively coaxing the troubled pilot into better aeronautical decision making; very well may have saved that poor man’s life. Also, a tip of the cap to the fellow pilot who joined in to help. 👍

[@flagmichael]

Halfway through I had a sense it was going to end badly.

[@lanceanz]

"FD425" is a B200C Super King Air operated by the RFDS (Royal Flying Doctor Service). Registration is VH-FDS. Somewhat ironic that it was the RFDS that gave assistance. Guess they could have thrown medication or oxygen ;-)

[@Anonymous551656]

VH-FDS for an aircraft of the RFDS... that's the most appropriate registration code I've seen since rescue helicopter VH-RSQ

[@Meeandah]

All the Queensland based RFDS King airs and PC-12s have VH-FDx registrations. There's a few of them.

[@ozgurkaratas6450]

Was lookin down for this info...Thanks!

[@lanceanz]

OZGUR KARATAS Happy that it was useful 👍

[@GunSlinger221]

Controller, you sir are a professional. I was on pins and needles hoping you were not going to permit him to continue on to his intended destination. His situational awareness was compromised, even though it was hard to detect. You picked right up on it and handled it like a professional. Kudos to the spotter for sticking with the flight. Gotta say, almost to the end of the age cap. There have been many times I sure would have liked to had your pro teams watching my 6. BRAVO

[@davidmoore3550]

Well done to everyone involved they really just saved this guys life.

[@edwardvarby4363]

That was intense! When the readback was wrong & alarms were going off, that was dramatic. Glad he was able to get down safely. Good job all around.

[@flagmichael]

Yep - that was when I thought it could still go very wrong.

[@liesdamnlies3372]

Quite so, and I can't imagine what the ATC might've been thinking. Like "is that a low fuel warning? I hope not..."

[@David_C_83]

That was greatly coordinated and I really liked the attention of repeatedly making sure everything was going well during the approach and making sure the pilot was aware of where he is and what he should be looking for. Not sure what kind of capacity the pilot had after finally responding but am glad that they all managed to make this a successful landing and hope the pilot is doing well.

[@davidc8543]

Took me a sec to realize you were a different David C. I was like, "When the hell did I write this? I JUST watched the video!" XD

[@David_C_83]

@@davidc8543 LOL, I admit I had not seen another David C comment on videos before now but I can see how it could be confusing

[@johnmunroe5621]

David C :

[@Thundersnowy]

@@davidc8543 imagine watching a video, seeing a comment that you're thinking, 'Yeah! That's exactly what I was thinking!' Then I realize it WAS my comment from last year. Oops. At least I agree with myself! 👍✌️🤣

[@instant_mint]

@@Thundersnowy haha that has happened to me several times, it's funny

[@ian_b5518]

Amazing how his speech improved so much with each 1k reduction in Alt.

[@flagmichael]

It was like he sobered up in a matter of a few minutes. Remarkable demonstration of the value of oxygen in our blood.

[@alexclement7221]

I was surprised that he was that incoherent at only 10000'. I used to LIVE at 8000'!

[@RangieNZ]

@@alexclement7221When you lived at that altitude, your body will have made much more of the oxygen-carrying blood molecules, over several weeks. This is why athletes 'train at altitude', to increase the ability of their blood to carry oxygen. After you decend from altitude, the affect lasts days/weeks, before your blood adjusts again, to the lesser requirements of the lower altitude.

[@linkiny]

DQP: "I feel fine" Me: *Press X to doubt*

[@j.thomas7128]

So much to learn from these. The euphoria of hypoxia. Great situational awareness of FlyDoc to request last known freq and to gauge pilot's level of incapacitation by indicating he wasn't responding to wing wag, but is flying away when encroached upon. This is the level of professionalism we should all strive for. Great Stuff.

[@MazzaRC]

I hope FlyDoc got some free fuel.

[@DiabloOutdoors]

...for life.

[@lanceanz]

At [2:24] I believe FD425 (registration VH-FDS) is saying "he appears to be going over The Docks at the moment". And immediately after, ATC says "It may be pointless you chasing him but however just stand by ..."

[@jamesblunt006]

Imagine being the pilot of VH-DQP and watching this video later. Then realizing how lucky you were that the controller and FlyDoc 425 were there to get him safely to the ground. Well done everybody. Great video!

[@RyanRuark]

The FlyDoc pilot is a damn hero.

[@z34rk79]

425 is like "Yeah I realize I'm no longer needed but imma see this guy land before I go anywhere else"

[@JarrydS]

Great video, this almost certainly highlights an incapacitated pilot due to hypoxia, carbon monoxide or some other form of oxygen deprivation. The controllers were able to pick up on this, and I suspect FlyDoc did pretty quickly also hence relaying "He is aware of me/watching me" but doesn't seem to be making coherent decisions beyond minor turns to get away from FlyDoc. "Oxygen, Oxygen, Oxygen" is used in an attempt to convince someone suffering oxygen deprivation to don an oxygen mask without giving them complex instructions, or if not available, to try indicate to them they're starved of oxygen and to descend to a safer altitude. This was extremely well handled and it goes to show the professionalism of everyone involved, even when the pilot was still convinced he was safe to fly to Redcliffe. Those suffering oxygen deprivation don't have the ability to make reliable decisions and the ATC picked up on this and used an ever growing force towards getting him to land at Gold Coast until the pilot agreed.

[@flagmichael]

I've had CO poisoning before, and (separately) smoke inhalation, which is CO plus HCN. In both cases I was unable to think clearly but I was able to clearly enunciate stupid ideas. (The difference between the two of those is that I remember almost nothing of the 12 hours following smoke inhalation. I didn't even remember getting molten plastic embedded in the top of my bare foot.) This guy sounded drunk until he got down into thicker air, then straightened up a lot minute by minute. If it wasn't hypoxia I don't know what it was.

[@coolbreezetv4283]

It would have been so easy for ATC to say "No probs - OK for Redcliffe" and just let DQP become someone else's problem. Absolute legend for going the extra mile here.

[@사라미-o2h]

the "oxygen, oxygen, oxygen" was so interesting to me too, it seems like atc knew what was going on

[@Tricia_K]

@@사라미-o2h Yes, I thought the same!

[@Tricia_K]

@@사라미-o2h (please excuse late response, newbie to the channel and binge-watching!)

[@southeastmedia936]

16:18 "There will be fire tender vehicles in front of the tower with flashing lights", not 5-10 vehicles. AirServices refer to their ARFF trucks as 'tenders' :)

[@cliveramsbotty6077]

there should be a blanket ban on subtitle corrections appearing in the comments after the video has been published

[@653j521]

@@cliveramsbotty6077 Or vasaviation gets to correct all the posts here. :)

[@ultfrisbeeplyr]

@@cliveramsbotty6077 why?

[@BeachNanny]

clive ramsbotty why? the poster was just providing information.

[@nickwallace3510]

Yeah, 5-10 vehicles sounds a bit like fire tender vehicles now that I think about it!

[@VanillaSkyGaming]

Great controller, he heard the alarms go off in the cockpit and asked him to check his speed. Amazing teamwork

[@JJC2611]

That was so tense. Great professionalism by all involved. I live in Brisbane and I’m very proud of the way that this was handled.

[@Xosidhe]

Well done to the controller for being assertive about getting him to land when he didn’t want to. People in a medical emergency are often uncooperative and don’t realize when they can’t manage something.

[@DomManInT1]

Dude had no clue how much trouble he was in.

[@johnopalko5223]

That's the really scary aspect of hypoxia. With your brain pulled back to idle, you don't realize your predicament.

[@DomManInT1]

@@johnopalko5223 But...was it really hypoxia at 10,000 feet? Or had he been on a bender the night before and just passed out?

[@wowm8]

@@DomManInT1 Sounds like this occured at night, so the possibility of hypoxia is increased. 10,000ft at night is very a plausible case for hypoxia.

[@MarkRose1337]

@@DomManInT1 Just lacking sleep can do it, too

[@2xKTfc]

@@wowm8 Is the oxygen content different at night?

[@ZsomborZsombibi]

Amazing how politely the controller took pressure on the pilot to land ASAP. Pro cooperation to solve this situation.

[@pfsantos007]

Cool video. Glad it worked out. Edit: Wonderful souls in the flydoc and ATC, even pointed out the audible warnings in the DQP cockpit.

[@JurgenADV]

VASAviation of many outstanding videos this one is in the very top tier. Thank you for your efforts.

[@VASAviation]

Thank you for watching

[@wallabybob3020]

Loved listening to this! I’ve flown in and out of the Gold Coast Airport many times and I can confirm ATC are always this professional. Great work by all involved!!

[@goodshipkaraboudjan]

I loved calling them Coolie Tower for a few years after it became Gold Coast, they always bite! Calling Sunshine Coast "Maroochy" does nothing though, they don't care. Great controllers at both though, we're lucky to have them.

[@wallabybob3020]

@@goodshipkaraboudjan 😁 Especially the newer or younger ATC guys in ‘Cooly’ Tower. I remember when ‘Gold Coast International’ was just a couple of tin sheds.

[@bryansimmons4550]

The biggest award goes to the Brisbane controller who sensed something was wrong with DQP beyond simple comm failure. His persistence in trying to determine DQP's condition, and assuming it could be hypoxia since the aircraft itself was behaving normally was outstanding. And then more or less INSISTING that DQP land at Gold Coast was brilliant as well. I'd rather have a live pilot who can have a go at me later, than a dead pilot who I made an errant assumption about. Always err on the side of caution. I don't think I would trust a pilot who has been "out" to properly calculate remaining fuel, either. "Sir, I don't care what you THINK those fuel gauges are showing, get on the ground immediately!"

[@richcarrCCC]

ATC YBBN APP & FD 425 is what Aviation is all about, I'm so glad most aviators out there are members of a brotherhood willing to help out in such a great manner as exemplified by those in this video. THANKS so much for putting together an excellent video.

[@MarieInnes]

2:28 [... “it may be pointless if you chase him, but anyhow...]

[@lenrusnak162]

I am not an aviation expert by any means. However I must comment on how commendable and reassuring it is to see the very professional and responsible attitude everyone has demonstrated in this situation. I am sure you guys know that you truly proud you should be of yourselves. Flying!! What an honorable amazing profession.

[@Peter_Jenner]

Wow. That one was a bit of a journey. Congrats to all those involved.

[@tandemwings4733]

That ATC has to be one of the most patient and professional people I have ever listened to. Powerful stuff..!!!

[@milolouis]

This is easily the best ATC interaction I've ever heard just brilliant, so much drama.

[@bjornroesbeke]

I was more scared and concerned watching this video than when watching a horror movie. It's such a relief to know that the pilot of VHDQP landed safely. Hopefully he won't suffer any permanent medical problems.

[@chester8420]

Horror movies are not real, but this certainly is!

[@flagmichael]

This was no script where the writer had the say how it would turn out. Without the controller, and probably without FlyDoc, it would have ended with predictable horror enough.

[@DirectorOfFUN1]

Two vids in one day! Thanks for your hard work !

[@VASAviation]

Thank you for watching

[@tomsmith3045]

I'm thinking that pilot should be buying beer for that controller, forever. Some of the best ATC work I've ever heard. Just perfect. Thanks for sharing this!

[@konanoobiemaster]

"daddy why did you name me quebec?" "it's a long story sweety - go get delta & pappa first and i'll tell you"

[@juliocamacho8354]

You win the internets!

[@Anonymous551656]

That's not how the meme works. The accolade is applied to the hero plane, not the victim - so it should go "why did you name me 425" and "Go get Fly and Doc."

[@flagmichael]

From a Readers Digest "Humor in Uniform" ages ago: The guy was in boot camp and being drilled on ICAO phonetics. The boot beside him was challenged, "What is the word for P?" Reply: "Papa, sir!" The writer's turn next: "What is the word for M?" Fumbling for a possibility, he answered, "Mama!" The DI responded "Your mama ain't gonna help you here!"

[@tvideo1189]

I really thought this was going to end up like Payne Stewart's Learjet flight. Great to hear he finally started responding and got to a lower altitude in time. Hypoxia is deadly.

[@Quackks00]

He sounded much better...once he started his landing sequence with airport in sight. This pilot has been one of the scariest for a regular civilian like me. Thank god we have people like FlightDoc

[@setharnold9764]

I love these Aussie videos, these two just calmly saved another man's life. Wonderful stuff, I'm glad it ended well.

[@Tully_23_32]

We are a very laid back people us Aussies, even in emergencies we are laid back, she'll be right attitude. Whatever will happen will happen, we can only prevent so much 🥰

[@t.w.3]

Nerve wracking moments until VHDQP started responding. Great work getting him safely down.

[@flagmichael]

Even then it sounded like he had a stroke. Until he began to clear up as he descended it looked really bad.

[@liveoakgaming5967]

At 3:06. Flydoc says "i think we're gaining on him a the moment", where you have "i think we got him at the moment" at 4:05 he says "im jsut trying to get a little closer without spooking him" where you have "striking him" at 5:51 Flydoc says "ill get back with that fuel figure shortly", where you have "to you here shortly"

[@birreboi]

@LiveOakGaming A bit picky, but yes, I have seen numerous times where this channel misspells and translates wrong messages from ATC or pilot. Not quite so professional, but still whoever runs this channel is otherwise doing a good job.

[@delawarepilot]

I was on the edge of my seat, good episode, good outcome.

[@Derangedteddy]

What an awesome demonstration of airmanship and humanity, this was! This might be my favorite VAS Aviation video.

[@seatravel8536]

Great job to the controller! Kept him talking the whole time. Great job flydoc.

[@philofthesouth6019]

Professionalism and sheer class from flydoc and ATC - top lads.

[@rztrzt]

Well done ATC & FlyDoc425

[@Mr1990hjc]

I went thru an altitude chamber once, and part of the program was listening to ATC recordings of crashes, one of which was a fellow who was spatially disorientated. he was in a flat spin, and controllers were helping him out of it. he sounded calm for the first couple of attempts, and then he called a mayday, his voice got higher, and higher, until he spun it into the ground. I'd say this fellow was close to that level of emergency, and didn't even know it. So glad that he made it down safe, thank God for professionals and and those who step up, even without a call !

[@thatairplaneguy]

Great work to all involved. As a pilot, i can’t thank controllers enough.

[@DocMWH]

Can't add much to what's already been said in the thread other than my own admiration and appreciation to FD425 and ATC.

[@ETennScott]

I'm not a pilot, just an aviation fan. Other commenters described it as riveting. It was all I could do to keep from running it to the end to see how things turned out! Kudos for a great video!!

[@cesarqueti]

Holy crap this video is great. They saved DQP's life. FlyDoc went beyond to awake that pilot, and the ATC was very patient and insistent that the cessna landed in the nearest and safest airport.

[@finassure]

As a BNE local, call out to ATC for them getting him to land at OOL. That was the most appropriate course of action

[@uk7153]

18 minutes long, but worth every minute. This is a pretty good training video for both hypoxia recognition and also alertness and professionalism from ATC.

[@taupehat]

This was easily the most unnerving video I've seen on this channel. I'm so incredibly relieved that it ended as it did and just as impressed by the professionalism of ATC and the Flying Doctor pilot. This was a harrowing close call, played out at the speed of a Caravan. Wow.

[@flagmichael]

In the first minutes the smart way to bet was that it would end in fuel starvation somewhere and the pilot would never have known.

[@patheddles4004]

That's a scary incident. Serious kudos to ATC and to Flydoc - very well handled, and in my book that's a life saved right there. Sounds like the hypoxic pilot in DQP was pretty experienced, which is just as well - I did notice how he retained the basics of airmanship and communication even when he was very much not OK. Also I'm happy to help with subtitles for Australian radio traffic on future videos if you like. Good job here, there's no significant inaccuracies beyond the occasional missed negative, but yeah it's fair to say that Aussies talking to other Aussies on the radio can get a bit hard to understand if you're not a local yourself. Oh and I should note, bloody good work on this video. I know just enough to realise how hard it must have been for you to put this together coherently the way you did. Earned my subscription. :-)

[@BurgerBoyda3rd]

He only wanted to fly into bravo airspace without a clearance

[@ToolsWithAdrius]

I understand this reference.gif

[@thecaptainredpants]

You are not cleared into the Bravo! Then clear me! No! YES! ...You're an asshole.

[@joshfarmer7681]

Actually Australia doesn’t have Bravo airspace. This is Class C and where he was at 110 was already in Class C airspace

[@kreeyungman7426]

This made me smile

[@ImGolden]

"bUt I aSkEd 15 mIlEs agoooooooo"

[@Willoz269]

This was unbelievable team work in Brisbane Centre to achieve this outcome...from the two approach controllers involved (Burgo and Bundy) to the two supervisors who worked feverishly behind the scenes to get assistance from other aircraft and airports (Axe and Al)....true professionals.

[@breebrazel2920]

Thankyou to everyone involved! They did absolutely amazing and saved a life. Hope they all had a well earned drink at the end 🍻

[@spencerjohnson7103]

An amazing show of tactfulness and patience by ATC when convincing him to land, I love seeing this stuff

[@petermiddo]

For those internationally, FLYDOC425 is a Royal Flying Doctors Service (RFDS) based in Bundaberg Qld (YBUD). RFDS provide aeromedical evacuations, remote clinics to outback properties, and operate, under contract to the State Government, Air Ambulance services.

[@hizgrase]

Thanks

[@truevegas]

Oh wow, these are my local airports! Can confirm the ATC and ground crews at these airports are top notch! Completely unsurprising how professional they were, it's an every day thing here. Go team 🙌🏼

[@elcastorgrande]

Great job by ATC! And the Good Samaritan Award goes to Flydoc 425. VAS, you get the Academy Award for best air drama. This was a masterpiece! The only thing missing was Captain Maggie.

[@andrewmeyer4885]

Well said, sir! The last time I was this riveted by a flight was Maggie's landing without her right main gear!

[@antoniobranch]

Those Australians are sure professional.

[@msteigman694]

Best VAS video I've seen to date, and I've seen many. Edge-of-seat stuff and revealed some heros.

[@HiTechRob]

Wow! That feeling of well being that hypoxia gives.... glad they got him on the ground. He definitely got more coherent as he lost altitude. Would love to know if they confirmed an issue with oxygen system, etc. Great video!

[@beenaplumber8379]

This was an unusually emotional one for me. I mean, what do you do when you lose control of your own brain? Just be grateful that there are others who have your back. Further proof that most people are good people, and some are even better! Hypoxia has always been a big fear as a private pilot. Fortunately I live over the Plains and I don't need that kind of altitude in a Cessna. You know what I'm really grateful for? That pilot was humble and trusted enough to follow the advice of the controller. Humility saves lives!