Heart-attack pilot lands, dies
2006-06-05 16:24
Brigham City - A pilot having a heart attack made an emergency landing on a highway, saving his three passengers shortly before he died.
Jack Francis, 61, president of Francis Trucking in Brigham City, Utah, had taken off from Jackpot, Nevada, and was headed home with his wife and another couple when he had a heart attack on Sunday morning, said Utah highway patrol spokesperson Derek Jensen.
He landed the single-engine Cessna 185 on Utah 30 near Park Valley and was taken to Bear River Hospital in Tremonton, where he died, said Jensen.
The plane went off the highway and hit a fence before coming to a stop, but the passengers were not injured.
"He basically saved these other three peoples' lives by landing the plane on the highway," said Jensen.
- AP