Jim O’Neill suddenly lost his sight, as the result of a stroke, at 5,500 feet last week. He was guided into RAF Linton-on-Ouse by Wing Commander Paul Gerrard, flying a Tucano T1 training aircraft.
The story made headlines but what’s really extraordinary is the audio recording of the conversation between the RAF officer and the pilot.
That calm reassuring voice you hear on the radio when you talk to RAF controllers for a LARS service or when you visit an RAF base – here it is saving a man’s life. Quite extraordinary. I hope they give Wing Commander Gerrard a medal.