Passenger Lands Private Plane After Duke Professor Piloting Aircraft Has Fatal Medical Emergency

• A passenger helped land the private plane they were on Sunday after its pilot experienced a medical emergency in the air, according to a spokesperson for Raleigh-Durham International Airport
• The pilot, who later died, has since been identified as Duke University professor Joseph Izatt
  
• In a statement, Pratt School Dean Jerome Lynch described Izatt as "an exceptionally thoughtful leader who weighed every decision with a care"

A passenger helped land a private plane safely in North Carolina on Sunday after the aircraft’s pilot suddenly experienced a fatal medical emergency.

The passenger took control of the Cirrus SR-20 and landed it at Raleigh-Durham International Airport shortly after the medical emergency was reported onboard the aircraft, according to a spokesperson for the airport and an incident report obtained by PEOPLE.

The pilot was transported to a local hospital shortly after the private plane landed safely on RDU’s secondary runway, the spokesperson says.

The victim has been identified as Duke University professor Joseph Izatt, according to local ABC affiliate WTVD and NBC affiliate WRAL-TV. The passenger's identity has not been disclosed.

Izatt joined Duke in 2001 and served as a professor of engineering and the chair of Duke’s Department of Biomedical Engineering, according to a news release from the university.

“He was an exceptionally thoughtful leader who weighed every decision with a care that originated with his deep love for the BME community,” said Pratt School Dean Jerome Lynch in the release. “The integrity and humility he brought as a school leader will be missed.” 

Sunday’s flight began at about 3:33 p.m. local time and lasted over an hour before landing at RDU, according to data from FlightAware.com.

Cellphone footage captured by Evan Caulfield showed paramedics putting the person in an ambulance, per WTVD. "I knew I was witnessing something," he said.

It is unclear what kind of medical emergency occurred on the plane, or when.

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In Monday’s announcement, Duke described Izatt as “a skilled researcher and inventor who played a foundational role in the development of a non-invasive medical imaging technique called optical coherence tomography."

Izatt spent decades collaborating with Dr. Cynthia Toth to “bring this research directly to patients.” He also “advised and collaborated with talented students and staff in his Biophotonics Group” to develop new methods to improve non-invasive medical diagnostics, real-time image-guided robotic surgery and more. 

In 2008, Izatt received the Pratt School’s Capers and Marion McDonald Award for Excellence in Mentoring and Advising. Nearly a decade later, in 2017, he received the Graduate School Dean’s Award for Excellence in Mentoring. 

Izatt was also previously named a Fellow of the National Academy of Inventors (NAI) and the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE). In 2022, he became chair of Duke BME. 

“I am especially saddened to have lost a school leader who proudly led with his heart and who cared so deeply for the members of the BME and Pratt community,” Dean Lynch said.