The pilot of a Continental Airlines flight from Brussels to Newark died over the Atlantic Ocean on Thursday, but the jet landed safely with two co-pilots at the controls. The 247 passengers aboard Flight 61 weren’t told of the pilot’s death and flight attendants continued serving snacks, though the crew did ask for the help of any doctors aboard.
It turns out the 60-year-old Newark-based pilot, who worked for Continental for 32 years is ill. Around three or four hours into the flight, he dies. He died of natural causes, said Kelly Cripe, a spokeswoman for the Houston-based airline.
Dr. Julien Struyven, 72, a cardiologist and radiologist from Brussels responded to the intercom call for doctors. He examined the pilot in the cockpit. “He was not alive,” Struyven told the Associated Press. There was “no chance at all” of saving him, he said. Struyven suspected the pilot had a heart attack and used a defibrillator to try to revive him but it was too late.
Martha Love, a passenger from Greenwich, N.J., who was sitting in the first row of the plane, said passengers weren’t told exactly what was going on.
“No one knew,” she said. She only became concerned after the plane landed, when she saw fire trucks and emergency vehicles lined up along the runway.
Simon Shapiro, a passenger from New York City’s Brooklyn borough, was also unaware of the drama.
“I didn’t hear anything or see anything,” Shapiro said.”I was wondering why there were so many cops.”
Continental Spokeswoman Julie King said: “The crew on this flight included an additional relief pilot who took the place of the deceased pilot. The flight continued safely with two pilots at the controls. The company has been in touch with his family and we extend our deepest sympathies.”
According to AirSafe.com, “flight crew members dying or becoming incapacitated in flight are rare events.”
In 2007, another Continental pilot died at the controls after becoming ill during a flight from Houston to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. It landed safely with a co-pilot at the controls after being diverted to McAllen-Miller International Airport.
NBC News has compiled “fact file” ofincidents in which pilots died or passed out.
AirSafe.com also notes the story of a January 2008 Air Canada 767 flight from Toronto to London where the captain had to be physically removed from the aircraft due to erratic behavior.”
According to AirSafe.com, “this is the third safety related event in the last 12 months for Continental. In December 2008, Continental Flight 1404 crashed in on takeoff in Denver and was destroyed by fire. None of the passengers or crew were seriously injured. In February 2009, Continental Connection Flight 3407 crashed near Buffalo during approach, killing all 49 passengers and crew members, as well as one person on the ground. The last significant safety event for the 777 was a January 2008 crash of British Airways Flight 38 in London. None of the 16 crew members or 136 passengers were killed.”