Pilot dies in flight

Press, 30 October 1981, Page 6

Pilot dies in flight

NZPA Little Rock. Arkansas John Ussery had never handled an aeroplane before, so when the pilot let him take control of a singleengine plane at 2500 ft, he welcomed the chance for a little flying lesson. Then the pilot collapsed and died, and Mr Ussery had to bring the plane down himself. "I was flying the plane — I had the wheel in my hands when he fell over," Mr Ussery, a 29-year-old businessman, said yesterday. “He asked me, 'Think you can handle it now?’ and I said, ‘No, I can’t handle it.’ I expected him to take it back, but that’s the last thing he said and his head fell back." The incident began yesterday as Mr Ussery and his father-in-law, John Boyd, were on a pleasure flight with the pilot, Ellsworth Alexander Moore, aged 55. They were at about 3500 ft when Mr Moore was stricken with an apparent heart attack. He said his father-in-law looked at him and said, “We’re in serious trouble." Mr Ussery said he turned the plane and followed a highway, then called for help on the radio. With the help of two who took off and flew near them to guide them, Mr Ussery turned the propeller-driven Rockwell Aero Commander and flew it more than 96km to Little Rock’s Adams field, where he landed a little roughly but safely. Efforts to revive Mr Moore at. the airport were unsuccessful. He was pronounced dead at the University of Arkansas Medical Centre. Mr Ussery said he would not hesitate to fly again with a good pilot, but added, “I don’t want to fly any more myself... I think I’d rather just sit back and let someone else do the flying."