There is nothing new under the sun, but has anyone heard of such as this before?
http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/2008/11/07/pilot-goes-blind-in-mid-air-but-raf-talk-him-down-safely-86908-20875670/ Pilot goes blind in mid-air but RAF talk him down safely
Nov 7 2008 By Stephen Moyes
A PILOT who suddenly went blind at 15,000ft was guided in to land by an RAF crew.
A fighter jet was scrambled to fly alongside the stricken plane and the crew talked him down.
Glasgow-born businessman Jim O'Neill, 65, is thought to have suffered a stroke at the controls of his four-seater Cessna jet.
The RAF men came to the rescue after he had already made three abortive attempts to land.
Last night, Jim was being treated at the brain specialist unit of Queen's Hospital in Romford, Essex.
It is thought a pool of blood at the back of his brain put pressure on his optic nerves, blinding him.
His Cessna careered off the runway on touchdown at RAF Linton-on-Ouse near York but he escaped without a scratch after his plane shuddered to a halt on the grass airfield. He had taken off from Prestwick airport and was heading to Earls Colne, near Colchester, Essex, when disaster struck last Friday.
Air traffic controllers first attempted to guide him to Full Sutton airfield near York.
But three landing attempts there had to be aborted.
Last night, Jim said from his hospital bed: "I should not be alive. I owe my life - and those of dozens of people I could have crash landed on - to the RAF. It was terrifying.
"One minute I was enjoying the view, the next I couldn't see the dials in front of me.
"I thought it must be down to bright sunshine in the cockpit but slowly I made the horrifying discovery that I had gone blind.
"All there was in front ofme was a blur. I realised I was helpless at the controls."
His wife Eileen, 63, said: "It is a miracle that Jim is here today. The RAF are heroes.
"They were so cool and calm and talked Jim down. Without them, Jim would not be alive.
"I am only just coming to terms with what has happened. Jim is not out of the woods because he has had astroke and he still can't see.
"I believe that there was an angel on his shoulder as he came in to land.
"The whole story is amazing and it does not bear thinking about what could have happened."
The RAF said a fighter plane used for training pilots was sent up to intercept Jim's Cessna. It had been modified so it was able to travel at a slow enough speed to fly alongside the Cessna.
Jim raised the alarm with a mayday alert over the radio and the RAF jet was scrambled within minutes.
Son Douglas, 37, said: "My father could not see anything at 15,000ft. He would not have made out a hand in front of him, let alone see a runway. It is a miracle he is alive.
"The RAF crew were telling him to turn left and right, to straighten up and lower the plane, until eventually he made it down.
"Without everyone staying calm, he could have landed on a house, school or anywhere. He is being very philosophical and knows he is a lucky man."
