{"id":2329,"date":"2026-06-19T10:34:42","date_gmt":"2026-06-19T10:34:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?p=2329"},"modified":"2026-06-19T10:34:42","modified_gmt":"2026-06-19T10:34:42","slug":"two-arizona-pilots-reunite-after-terrifying-emergency-landing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?p=2329","title":{"rendered":"Two Arizona pilots reunite after terrifying emergency landing"},"content":{"rendered":"
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CHANDLER, AZ (AZFamily)<\/b> \u2014 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.<\/p>\n

Read more Sierra Vista mall, Cool Cuts reopen following bomb threats<\/a><\/p>\n

Joe Hatch and Gianni Pigneri reunited at Chandler Municipal Airport on Wednesday. The aviation community is tight-knit. It turns out, Pigneri\u2019s co-worker is Hatch\u2019s neighbor.<\/p>\n

The reunion comes about a month after Hatch\u2019s plane went down in the dark during what he described as a sudden engine issue.<\/p>\n

A six-minute ordeal in the dark<\/h2>\n

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\u2014only about eight miles south of the airport.<\/p>\n

Around the same time, Pigneri was flying a helicopter in the same area on a medical transport mission, returning to Phoenix from Tucson.<\/p>\n

When Pigneri heard Hatch\u2019s distress call, he decided to move in to help.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll 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,\u201d Pigneri said.<\/p>\n

Air traffic control recordings capture calm communication during the emergency, including Hatch reporting he was losing altitude and didn\u2019t know if he would make it.<\/p>\n

The entire ordeal lasted about six minutes.<\/p>\n

\u201cFelt like six seconds,\u201d said Pigneri. \u201cIt went fast, that\u2019s for sure,\u201d said Hatch.<\/p>\n

Read more US strike on an alleged drug boat kills 3 in the eastern Pacific Ocean<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cComforting to know he was overhead\u201d<\/h2>\n

Hatch said there were only a few possible outcomes.<\/p>\n

\u201cEither I die, I\u2019m seriously injured, or I walk away,\u201d Hatch said. \u201cAnd I was OK with all of those, but it was comforting to know that he was overhead.\u201d \u201cHis presence there contributed to my peace, right? That there was no panic.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hatch ultimately made an emergency landing in a field near Hunt Highway and Cooper Road.<\/p>\n

After landing, Hatch used a handheld radio to let Pigneri know he was OK.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was like a huge sigh of relief,\u201d Pigneri said. \u201cOnce I saw him out there walking around, I felt like my job was done.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pigneri also helped relay Hatch\u2019s exact location to air traffic control, helping first responders reach the scene quickly.<\/p>\n

Hatch walked away with only a minor scratch and is already back flying.<\/p>\n

What began as a terrifying emergency has turned into the start of a new friendship.<\/p>\n

See a spelling or grammatical error in our story? <\/i>Please click here to report it<\/i>.<\/i><\/p>\n

Do you have a photo or video of a breaking news story? Send <\/i>it to us here<\/i> with a brief description.<\/i><\/p>\n

Read more Maricopa County attorney launches teen advisory council amid violence surge<\/a><\/p>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2328,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2329","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-interesting"],"yoast_head":"\nTwo Arizona pilots reunite after terrifying emergency landing - Tucson Moving Report<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?p=2329\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Two Arizona pilots reunite after terrifying emergency landing - 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