By admin 
CHANDLER, AZ (AZFamily) — A pilot who survived a terrifying nighttime emergency landing is now meeting face-to-face with the medevac helicopter pilot who helped guide him to safety.
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Joe Hatch and Gianni Pigneri reunited at Chandler Municipal Airport on Wednesday. The aviation community is tight-knit. It turns out, Pigneri’s co-worker is Hatch’s neighbor.
The reunion comes about a month after Hatch’s plane went down in the dark during what he described as a sudden engine issue.
A six-minute ordeal in the dark
Hatch said it was about 8:45 p.m. on Friday, May 15, when he heard a pop in his engine while flying toward Chandler—only about eight miles south of the airport.
Around the same time, Pigneri was flying a helicopter in the same area on a medical transport mission, returning to Phoenix from Tucson.
When Pigneri heard Hatch’s distress call, he decided to move in to help.
“All I was thinking was, if it was me and my crew that were going down, I would hope that somebody in the area would be over us and helping in any way that they could,” Pigneri said.
Air traffic control recordings capture calm communication during the emergency, including Hatch reporting he was losing altitude and didn’t know if he would make it.
The entire ordeal lasted about six minutes.
“Felt like six seconds,” said Pigneri. “It went fast, that’s for sure,” said Hatch.
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“Comforting to know he was overhead”
Hatch said there were only a few possible outcomes.
“Either I die, I’m seriously injured, or I walk away,” Hatch said. “And I was OK with all of those, but it was comforting to know that he was overhead.” “His presence there contributed to my peace, right? That there was no panic.”
Hatch ultimately made an emergency landing in a field near Hunt Highway and Cooper Road.
After landing, Hatch used a handheld radio to let Pigneri know he was OK.
“It was like a huge sigh of relief,” Pigneri said. “Once I saw him out there walking around, I felt like my job was done.”
Pigneri also helped relay Hatch’s exact location to air traffic control, helping first responders reach the scene quickly.
Hatch walked away with only a minor scratch and is already back flying.
What began as a terrifying emergency has turned into the start of a new friendship.
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