Unqualified Student Pilot Takes Stolen Cirrus SR22 Into LAX Airspace | ATC Guide Him Down Safely

February 19, 2010 — Cirrus SR22 N443CP — Los Angeles

At about 2:30 in the morning, a 23-year-old man flying a stolen Cirrus SR22 contacted controllers near Los Angeles. He had an expired student pilot certificate and was not qualified to conduct the flight he was attempting. The first landing was abandoned because the aircraft was approaching too fast. Controllers then worked with him through a second approach, and he landed safely at LAX before being taken into custody.

The controller built the approach around an unqualified pilot

At about 2:30 a.m. on February 19, 2010, controller Dan Boyle received a transmission from 23-year-old Skye Turner, who was flying Cirrus SR22 N443CP. Turner was alone, had taken the airplane from Montgomery Field and was not qualified to conduct the flight in instrument conditions.

Boyle had to keep the airplane moving toward a safe airport while giving instructions that a pilot unfamiliar with the SR22 could follow. The Smithsonian account describes a long, gradual approach toward Los Angeles International Airport rather than a short, high-workload arrival.

The controller also had to manage the pilot's lack of instrument qualification. Turner could not simply be treated as an ordinary instrument-rated pilot who could accept a complex clearance and execute it independently. The approach was therefore built around simple guidance and continuous monitoring.

The aircraft eventually landed safely at LAX after a second approach. The important operational detail is that the recovery depended on adapting ATC guidance to the pilot's actual capability rather than assuming qualifications he did not have.

The recovery was complicated by the fact that the aircraft had not been obtained through a normal flight operation. Turner had taken the airplane from Montgomery Field and was subsequently intercepted by the controller's instructions rather than by another aircraft. The controller's objective was therefore to bring the flight to an airport safely while keeping the pilot focused on a manageable sequence of actions.

The safe outcome came after the controller adapted the approach to the pilot's actual limitations. That is materially different from simply saying that ATC talked down a confused pilot. The controller was working with a pilot who lacked the qualifications and aircraft-specific training normally expected for the flight.

“I'll take you out on a nice, long, drawn-out approach, and we'll descend real gradually.”

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