"I HAVE NO IDEA HOW TO FLY THIS PLANE!"

A passenger gets an emergency flying lesson when his pilot passes out 3,000 metres above the ocean

- BY Robert Kiener ILLUSTRATIONS BY MARIE BERGERON

THE SELFIE DARREN HARRISON HAS JUST TAKEN

shows him dressed casually, in white shorts and a T-shirt, with his bare feet propped up on a plush grey leather seat. He is the lone passenger in the roomy six-seat cabin of a single-engine Cessna 208 turboprop, some 3,600 metres above the Atlantic, off the east coast of Florida.

He sends the photo to his wife, Brittney Harrison, who is six months pregnant with their first child. Harrison, a 39-year-old flooring-sales executive, is returning to his home in Lakeland, Florida, after taking part in an offshore deep-sea fishing tournament in Marsh Harbour, Bahamas.

It's around noon. The weather on this morning in early May of 2022 is perfect, and the views-brilliant blue skies and crystalline ocean below-are captivatingly beautiful.

The plane is being flown by Ken Allen, a 64-year-old veteran pilot. To Allen's right, in the co-pilot's seat, is his friend Russ Franck, 70. Franck's no pilot, but he does enjoy going along for the ride.

Some 45 minutes into their scheduled 75-minute flight to Treasure Coast International Airport in Fort Pierce, Florida, air-traffic controllers in Miami clear Allen to begin his approach to Fort Pierce, which is now some 110 kilometres to the west. They instruct him to descend to 3,000 metres.

"November 333 Lima Delta. Roger, Miami Center," says Allen, using the plane's call sign.

A few minutes later, as Allen continues his descent, the right side of his head starts pounding: Boom! Boom! Boom! Every time his heart beats, Allen feels as if his head is being hit with a hammer.

What the heck...? Allen wonders as he winces in pain. Out of his right eye, he begins seeing bright blue lights flashing.

"Guys, I don't feel good!" he tells Harrison and Franck. The pain is severe. The pounding intensifies. His voice shaking, he says, "Everything is fuzzy!"

Harrison answers immediately, "What does that mean?"