With the help of air-traffic controller Robert Morgan, Harrison safely landed the plane at Palm Beach International Airport with Allen and another passenger onboard. Allen was rushed to Palm Beach Gardens Medical Center, where he underwent a nine-hour, lifesaving surgery by Dr. Nishant Patel.
The surgery was so serious that Patel left a voicemail for Allen’s wife saying he had a 50-50 chance at survival.
Allen’s recovery has been so remarkable that he has been cleared for the Federal Aviation Administration to fly again, 17 months after the ordeal.
“I feel great. I feel like my old self,” he said. “It’s incredible. I really didn’t think I was going to be able to, but I don’t give up easily, so I had to see it through.”
Since that harrowing day, Harrison has welcomed a daughter who is now 14 months old. His wife was seven months pregnant at the time of the emergency landing.
While Allen has expressed his gratitude for Harrison’s heroic actions, he also has been experiencing another emotion.
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“I had so much guilt … that I endangered their lives,” Allen said. “I mean the first thing besides crying was apologizing to him and Russ. I felt so bad.”
“I had to grab him by the shoulders and say, ‘Stop. No more,’” Harrison said.
Aortic dissections often occur without any warning, so there was nothing Allen could’ve done, according to Patel.
“Most patients who have this problem have no clue that something like this can happen,” Patel said on TODAY.
In celebration of his return to the skies, Allen recently took Patel for a flight over Florida to show his gratitude. Meanwhile, Harrison has no hesitation about getting on a plane with Allen again.
“He’s flying my wife next weekend to Charleston,” Harrison said.
