Guy Eby

Guy Eby (born November 9, 1918) is a retired American airline captain who kept the commercial airplane he was flying (American Airlines Flight 182) from colliding with another one (TWA Flight 37) on November 26, 1975, following a mistake from an air traffic controller in Cleveland, Ohio.[1]

Early life

Eby was born on November 9, 1918, in Ephrata, Pennsylvania.[2] He received the Air Medal in 1946 for his services for United States Navy[3] against Japan in 1945 towards the end of World War II.[4]

1975 flight incident

The two planes, combinedly carrying over 300 passengers, were reportedly just 30 metres away from each other as they were flying over Carleton, Michigan at the time. Eby's plane was headed towards Newark, New Jersey, from Chicago, Illinois. The other plane was going from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to Los Angeles, California. Eby quickly lowered the plane's altitude at 35,000 ft amidst a cloudy environment, an action which ultimately saved the lives of the passengers and the flight crew. Several people were injured in the American Airlines plane. It made an emergency landing in Detroit.[5][6] At the time, he had a flight time of nearly 22,000 hours. It would have been the greatest aviation disaster in the history of United States at the time had there been a collision.[7]

Later life

Eby turned 100 years old on November 9, 2018, in Ormond Beach, Florida, where he has resided since 1983.[8] One of the passengers in the American Airlines Flight 182, Burt Herman, wrote and published a book about Eby and the incident, called Eby: Master of the Moment in 2018.[9]

References
  1. "High-altitude gratitude: Passenger in near-miss thanks pilot after 41 years". News-Journalonline. February 10, 2017. Retrieved November 3, 2019.
  2. "Proclamation". Ormondbeach.org. December 4, 2018. Retrieved November 3, 2019.
  3. Holt, Tony. "Ormond pilot who saved 100s feted by survivors as hero for his 100th birthday". Daytona Beach News-Journal Online. Retrieved 25 January 2020.
  4. "Receives Air Medal". The Evening News (Harrisburg, Pennsylvania). November 20, 1946. Archived from the original on November 3, 2019.
  5. "Controller's Failure To Warn Nearly Caused Air Collision". The Evening Sun. February 28, 1976. p. 1. Retrieved November 3, 2019.
  6. "Controller's Failure To Warn Nearly Caused Air Collision". The Evening Sun. February 28, 1976. p. 3. Retrieved November 3, 2019.
  7. "The Longest Minute". The Journal Herald. March 6, 1976. p. 21. Retrieved November 3, 2019.
  8. "Ormond Beach hero pilot turns 100". Ormond Beach Observer. November 12, 2018. Retrieved November 3, 2019.
  9. "Oak Brook man to share tale of mid-air collision and his book about it". The Chicago Tribune. August 6, 2018. Retrieved November 3, 2019.
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