Orlando , Florida ( CNN ) -- `` These people saved my family from an almost certain fiery death . '' Doug White speaks highly of the air traffic controllers and flight instructor who helped talk him through landing a plane last year after the pilot died . He and his family finally met the team last week , after they received the highest honor from the National Air Traffic Controllers Association at a ceremony in Orlando , Florida . In April 2009 , White , 56 , and his wife and their two daughters were returning to Louisiana after attending a funeral for White 's brother . Less than 10 minutes after their private chartered plane took off from Marco Island , Florida , the unexpected happened . `` I 've got to declare an emergency . My pilot 's deceased . I need help , '' White told the control tower . He had seized the radio after the pilot had fallen unconscious . `` I need to get this on the ground . I 'm flyin ' a King Air . '' Luckily , White had three months of flight lessons , but he had flown only a small , less-sophisticated single-engine plane . That 's like going from a Volkswagen to a race car , he said . In the background of their conversation , dozens of controllers were scrambling to reroute flights while Fort Myers International Airport prepared to accept the plane . `` Disengage the autopilot . We 're gon na have you hand-fly the plane , '' instructed controller and experienced pilot Lisa Grimm said . `` You find me the longest , widest runway you can , ma'am , '' White responded in a deadpan Louisiana twang . Controllers in Fort Myers reached out to flight instructor and pilot Kari Sorenson , who was familiar with the King Air plane . At last week 's reunion , Sorenson said he relayed through the controllers only the most critical information needed to get the plane safely on the ground . White jokingly accused Sorenson of withholding some information . `` Would you want to have heard it ? '' Sorensen joked back . Sorensen had high praise for White 's maneuvering of the twin-engine plane . `` Doug learned to fly that plane in 20 minutes , '' Sorensen said . `` I do n't think you could have made the plane more complex or the pilot less experienced and have had a successful landing . '' Grimm said she remembered White 's steady demeanor through the whole incident . `` He was like the coolest cucumber , '' she said . Shortly after the pilot slumped over in his seat , White yelled for his wife to come up to the cockpit . Terry White recalled that she was initially annoyed with her husband 's tone , thinking he wanted her to bring him a soda . Once she realized the gravity of the situation , `` my first thought was my girls , '' she said . At one point , Doug White held out his hand , and Terry said , `` You 're not even shaking ... and [ he ] said , ' I am on the inside . ' `` That 's just the way he is , '' she said . There were times , White admitted , when he got nervous . `` I thought they were leaving me out there stranded , '' White said . `` And it 's real quiet in that airplane when nobody 's talking to you . '' His teenage daughter Maggie White said she felt helpless . `` I mean , what could I do ? Nothing , just sit there and pray and , you know , throw up , '' she said . White said he felt a bond with the team of air traffic controllers , as if they had been in combat together . The White family was shocked to learn during the reunion that they were given only a 5 percent chance of surviving . The Louisiana pharmacist has gone on to receive his pilot 's license , saying he never wants to be in the same situation again . `` If you 're gon na die , at least die trying not to , '' Doug White said .
Last year , Doug White took control of twin-engine plane after pilot died . White and his family were returning home from a funeral . A year later , they met flight experts who helped them land .