Pilot lands safely after going blind in mid-air

British aviator reveals 'terrifying' ordeal after suffering stroke at 5,500 feet

LONDON - A British pilot who was suddenly blinded by a stroke during a solo flight was talked safely down by a military pilot, the Royal Air Force said Friday.

Jim O'Neill asked for help after he was went blind 40 minutes into a flight from Scotland to southeastern England last week. The BBC reported that O'Neill, flying a small Cessna aircraft, lost his sight 5,500 feet in the air.

"It was terrifying," O'Neill said. "Suddenly, I couldn't see the dials in front of me."

The air force said in a news release that O'Neill initially believed he'd been "dazzled" by bright sunlight, and made an emergency call for help. He then realized that something more serious was happening, and said, "I want to land, ASAP."

RAF Wing Commander Paul Gerrard was just finishing a training flight nearby and was drafted in to help the stricken pilot.

Gerrard located the plane, began flying close to it and radioed directions.

"For me, I was just glad to help a fellow aviator in distress," he said.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27600521/

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{ Can you imagine? Flying all by yourself and suddenly you can't see a thing? This man was very lucky to make it back on the ground alive. It just shows that anything is capable of happening. If you saw something like that in a movie it's likely some would say" Naw....that could never happen!" but truth is stranger than fiction.}