MIAMI , Florida ( CNN ) -- It 's a nightmarish scenario straight out of the movies : A passenger is forced to land a plane after its pilot becomes incapacitated . Passanger Doug White landed this Super King two-engine turboprop after the pilot fell unconscious . `` Descend and maintain 5,000 . Just take your time , we 'll set you up for the airport , '' an air traffic controller says . In a calm voice , a passenger responds : `` I need to get my throttle set for this descent . I do n't know where to set it at . '' The reality was playing aboard a plane over Florida on Sunday in what the National Air Traffic Controllers Association called `` an Easter miracle . '' The incident began about 1:30 p.m . The plane , a Super King Air two-engine turboprop with four passengers on board , was headed to Jackson , Mississippi , from Marco Island , Florida , about 18 miles south of Naples . The plane entered the jurisdiction of air traffic control at Miami Center , the facility responsible for high-altitude air traffic in southern Florida and the Caribbean , according to a statement issued by the air traffic controllers association . The pilot notified controllers that the plane was at 9,000 feet and climbing , said Steve Wallace , Miami Center spokesman for the association . However , a controller at the center tried twice to raise the pilot after that and received no response , Wallace said . Hear audiotape of emergency landing » . After a few moments , a different voice came over the radio : Passenger Doug White told air traffic controllers the pilot was unconscious and they needed help . His wife and two teenage daughters were flying home to Louisiana with him , he said . Listen to White describe seeing the pilot 's eyes roll back in his head » . He reported the plane 's autopilot was on and the plane was continuing to climb from 10,000 feet . `` I told my girls to pray hard , '' White later told CNN television affiliate WINK . White later told the Naples Daily News he has a pilot 's license and about 130 hours experience flying a single engine Cessna , but had never flown the larger , faster King Air . The difference , experts said , is not as simple as driving a different model of car . A turboprop multi-engine , Wallace told CNN , `` probably lands at a faster speed than he 's ever flown a single-engine plane before . '' White told air traffic controllers it appeared the pilot had died , according to the statement , and he reported that the plane 's autopilot was on and the plane was continuing to climb from 10,000 feet . Two air traffic controllers worked to help him disengage the autopilot , as other controllers stepped in to lighten their workload . `` Keep it coming around when you can ... the turn looks good , very good sir , '' a controller said . The controllers then turned the plane over to air traffic controllers at the airport . One of them had called a friend who was certified in the King Air planes for advice . `` They walked him through flipping the switches , turning the knobs , '' Wallace said . White , who was composed for the most part , seemed doubtful for a brief moment . `` When I touch down ... If I ever touch down , do I just kill the throttle or what ? '' he asks . The landing was successful . `` I knew we had to do something ... I knew that much , '' White told WINK . The Federal Aviation Administration has not given any of the involved air traffic controllers permission to speak about the incident , Wallace said . However , the National Air Traffic Controllers Association lauded all of those involved in landing the plane . `` If you were to ask any one of the controllers who worked this even about what happened over the skies of south Florida , they would tell you that it was just a typical day at the office and that it was merely their job , '' association President Patrick Forrey said in the statement . `` However , the actions they all took to save the passengers aboard the flight were beyond heroic . '' Victoria Moreland , spokeswoman for Southwest Florida International Airport , said the pilot 's death was confirmed after the plane landed . The cause of death was unclear , Moreland said . It 's rare for a pilot to suffer a medical emergency during flight , said Chris Dancy , spokesman for the Frederick , Maryland-based Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association . The organization issues a yearly summary of accident trends and factors based on National Transportation Safety Board reports involving aircraft of less than 12,500 pounds -- smaller than the King Air involved in Sunday 's incident . According to the most recent report , which covers the year 2007 , out of 22 million general aviation flight hours , an estimated 15 million to 20 million flights , only six instances of a pilot 's medical incapacitation were reported , he said . In four of those instances , the pilot died . CNN 's Ashley Broughton contributed to this report .
Passenger Craft commandeers plane after pilot loses consciousness . White : `` When I touch down ... If I ever touch down , do I just kill the throttle ? '' Doug White was carrying White , his wife and four daughters from Mississippi to Florida . Controllers help him turn off autopilot , land plane : `` The turn looks good , very good sir ''