For the typical American, Easter Sunday means a rat race of extended church services, marathon meals with relatives and organizing an egg hunt - but hardly landing airplanes.
Unless, of course, you happen to be a passenger on a flight where your pilot just died.
What started out as a typical Sunday trek from Marco Island to Jackson, Miss., quickly turned into a nightmare once it became apparent Capt. Joe Cabuk was no longer in control of the plane.
Lucky for the passengers on board, one individual offered them a chance of survival.
While Doug White had basic flying experience with single-engine planes, he was forced to quickly learn on the job how to maneuver a much larger King Air plane with the only assistance coming from over a headset
Miraculously White, whose name was initially not made available to media, defied all logic by landing the plane on his first try at Southwest International Airport in Fort Myers.
The Editorial Board commends passenger-turned-pilot White for managing to escape disaster with his presence of mind in taking over the reins of the plane.
Not only does White deserve much due credit for his heroic efforts in the cockpit, but the air traffic controllers in Miami should be scored with a clutch assist.
Maybe it's just us, but we think White and his family will gladly deal with the misery of flying commercial on their next plane trip.
The prospects of one inch in knee space never sounded so enticing.
