A 37-year-old pilot from Baxley, Georgia was able to land his plane safely on Sunday night with help from local authorities after the plane he was piloting lost its alternator. According to Watauga County Sheriff Len Hagaman, Stanley White contacted the Air Traffic Control Center in Atlanta when the 1974 single engine fixed wing plane lost its alternator and a few instruments that were not related to airspeed and altitude. Hagaman said the sheriff's office's 911 center was able to make contact with White and direct him to the Boone airport.  Because there are no lights installed at the Boone airport's runway, three fire trucks and two sheriff's office vehicles had to light the path for White to land his plane. EMS and Watauga Rescue were on hand in case the landing didn't go smoothly, but they weren't needed as White made a perfect three-point landing.

Hagaman said after the landing, White said, "By the way, where am I?"  Hagaman said apparently White had never heard of Boone.