i d freak out. i d be done. one houston woman somehow kept her cool, kept it altogether after her husband, the pilot, passed out 16,000 feet in the air. hang on, hang on. i m trying to get him to put it on autopilot. i don t know how to do this. reporter: that is the frantic voice of a woman whose 70-year-old husband is falling unconscious at the controls of their small plane. flying in clouds at 16,000 feet she has never flown a plane before. i can t tell what s going on. reporter: listening in the crew or a nearby commercial plane who suspects that the pilot is suffering from a lack of oj general. the crew jumps in with critical advice on how to get the plane to a lower altitude. reporter: on the ground, denver air traffic control, charlie roarer, a 22 year veteran he knows he must get the plane turned around.