Hot air balloonists defy gravity in an airship with no steering, no motor, no brakes, and no promise of where they’re going to land. But that didn’t stop more than
at the time. reporter: this video posted online unconfirmed by nbc news but matching descriptions of the scene by massachusetts state police, showing first responders on the ground after a 79-year-old pilot became unresponsive midair before his female passenger took the controls what can you tell us about how difficult it might have been to land something like this it is not a trainer. so it s going to require more skill it s going to approach the airport at higher speeds. reporter: the small plane, a 2006 piper meridian took off from west chester, new york saturday afternoon en route to martha s vineyard on final approach, the passenger had to jump into action. the plane s left wing breaking in half after a hard landing just last year, darrin harrison made a similar heroic landing in florida. i ve got a serious situation here my pilot has gone incoherent we had now gone into a dive. reporter: harrison spoke to our savannah guthrie about taking control and safely