Photo Gallery

Adrift

Nathaniel Johansson ’18 encountered engine failure over the Pacific. These photos show how he managed to survive.

By Images courtesy Nathaniel Johansson ’18

Updated on May 25, 2023

Pilot Nathaniel Johansson ’18 had to ditch his plane in the Pacific Ocean after the engine failed at 28,000 feet. What followed was a harrowing night in a lifeboat and a frantic rescue operation to pluck him and his co-pilot from the sea. Read the full story here.

This view greeted Johansson and his copilot following their first night in the raft.
The Pilatus PC-12 aircraft—a multimillion-dollar, Swiss-made, high-performance turboprop—Johansson was delivering to Australia
Cockpit view roughly four hours into the planned 10-plus-hour flight. The engine failed 80 minutes later.
Before and after images of the passenger/cargo area, which Johansson modified to accommodate more fuel
The planned flight path and site of the ditching
Johansson shot this photo within five minutes of bringing the plane down. “It was surreal, yet we both were very calm,” he says. “The only thing on our mind was to be rescued.”
“We never did see the aircraft sink. Rather, over time as we drifted away, we lost sight of it to the horizon because the swells were so tall,” says Johansson. “It was surreal, hard to explain, happy that Kelly and I were alive, still in disbelief.”
Motor tanker Ariel arrived at about 9 p.m., six hours after the ditching. “They made multiple rescue attempts all night, where we came within 20 feet of their ship at times while he passed at about 15 knots,” says Johansson. “That’s faster than it sounds when you’re in a 6-by-6-foot raft and it’s a 720-foot ship. It made for a restless night. We though he might run us over due to the lack of maneuverability of his ship and because he would approach us head-on.”
The Horizon Reliance approaches. “Our savior,” says Johansson.
A crewmember photographed the raft, which was barely visible from the Horizon Reliance. “Many of the deckhands were on their first trip at sea, and for most this was their first actual, non-simulated rescue,” says Johansson.
The rescued pilots had to climb a 15-foot rope ladder alongside the Horizon Reliance as 15-foot swells rose around them.
Safely onboard the Horizon Reliance, the pilots posed with Capt. Mark Tuck (far left) and his crew.
Johansson now flies for Atlas Air, including this 747-400 (shown near Seattle), modified to carry aircraft parts between U.S. assembly lines and various international destinations.