Brian Sheehan

Pilot John Aytch describes the tense moments inside the cockpit after the single-engine plane he was flying in lost power about 1,500 feet above I-95 in Northeast Philadelphia. The 24-year-old certified flight instructor was completing a routine training exercise with his student, an off-duty Philadelphia police officer, when something went terribly wrong on Wednesday, April 1, 2026. Aytch says he took over the controls and had 20 seconds to decide where to land without seriously injuring himself, his student, and anyone on the ground.