When the pilot had a heart attack midflight, his wife, who had no flying experience, was able to safely land the propeller plane with help from air traffic controllers and a U.S. Customs and Border Protection air crew.
CBP said its Air and Marine Operations Riverside Air Unit was contacted by the Federal Aviation Administration for assistance to an in-air emergency on Friday. The pilot, identified as 78-year-old businessman Eliot Alper, had a heart attack and was unresponsive. Alper's only passenger was his wife, 69-year-old Yvonne Kinane-Wells.
