Panic-stricken airplane passenger gripped throttle and induced crash

A light aircraft crashed into a parked plane when a first time passenger started having a panic attack and accidentally gripped the throttle.

The pilot of the Pitts S-2A G-TIII had invited the employee for a flight from Blackpool Airport on the morning of June 8 this year, reports Lancs Live.

The passenger, who had never flown before and was just 5′ 2″ tall, used a booster seat. Although initially excited about his maiden flight, the passenger began to feel claustrophobic as he could only see the sky, and requested to not fly as the plane started to taxi away from the hangar.

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As the plane was heading back, the passenger started to panic and attempted to open the plane’s canopy. Despite the pilot’s efforts to soothe him, the passenger accidentally gripped the throttle, causing the plane to crash into a parked aircraft.

The Air Accidents Investigation Branch, which probes civil aircraft accidents and serious incidents within the UK, interviewed both the pilot and passenger during their investigation into the crash.

According to the AAIB report: “The passenger reported he had no experience of flying in any type of aircraft before but was very keen to try it.

“The passenger stated he was not under pressure to fly and that he trusted the pilot.

The passenger reportedly mentioned that the pilot had never had a panic attack before and questioned whether the G-TIII aircraft was the best choice for his maiden flight.”

According to the AAIB report, released this month, the pilot was a seasoned commander with 418 hours of flying experience.

Fortunately, neither the pilot nor the passenger sustained any injuries, but both planes suffered damage.

The AAIB concluded: “The event shows that even passengers who are keen to fly can experience a sudden and unexpected panic reaction with the potential to affect the safety of the aircraft.

“In this case, it appears that claustrophobia and a lack of forward vision triggered the reaction.

“A pre-flight briefing was conducted, and the pilot immediately cancelled the flight when he became aware the passenger was uncomfortable.

“This averted a more serious outcome, but he was not able to prevent the collision caused by the passenger inadvertently advancing the throttle.

“It is not possible to eliminate all risk from unexpected passenger behaviour.

“The risk can be minimised by thorough preparation focusing not only on the passenger’s physical readiness for the flight but also their emotional readiness.”

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