Continental Pilot Dies on Flight to Newark Airport

[Refugee 7]

June 18 (Bloomberg) -- A Continental Airlines Inc. pilot died of natural causes on a flight to Newark, New Jersey, from Brussels today, forcing two backup pilots to take control of the plane, authorities said.

The plane landed safely at Newark Liberty International Airport at 11:49 a.m. local time after an eight-hour flight, the airport said on its Web site.

The Boeing Co. 777, Flight 61, was carrying 247 passengers and 12 flight attendants, Continental said in a statement.

Passengers weren’t told of the pilot’s death in flight, the Associated Press and CNN reported. An announcement was made asking if any doctors were aboard, and several passengers approached the cockpit, AP said.

The 60-year-old captain, whose name wasn’t released, was based in Newark and had 32 years of service with the airline, Continental said. He apparently died of natural causes, forcing a relief pilot on board to take his place, the airline said. The plane continued safely with two pilots at the controls.

The pilot probably died of a heart attack, AP reported, citing a cardiologist, Julien Struyven, who said he examined the captain. Struyven said he tried to use a defibrillator to revive the pilot, but there was “no chance” of saving him, according to AP.

Family Notified

“The company has been in touch with his family and we extend our deepest sympathies,” the airline said in the statement. Continental, the fourth-largest U.S. carrier, earlier said the pilot was 61 and had 21 years of service with the airline.

“We are saddened to hear of the death of one of our fellow pilots,” Jay Pierce, chairman of the Continental chapter of the Air Line Pilots Association, said in a statement. “We are in contact with the family and are providing all possible support to them at this difficult time.”

The pilot died three to four hours into the flight, said Alison Duquette, a Federal Aviation Administration spokeswoman in Washington. She couldn’t say if the passengers were told of the death, and Continental didn’t immediately respond to a request from Bloomberg News for further information.

“I’m sure we’ll be looking into it and wanting to know exactly what happened,” Duquette said.

In-Flight Deaths Rare

Pilot deaths during a flight are rare, said Robert Mann, a former executive at American Airlines and now-defunct Pan Am who runs consulting firm R.W. Mann & Co. in Port Washington, New York.

“I don’t think it’s an age-related issue, just a statistical anomaly that’s bound to happen from time to time,” Mann said in a telephone interview. “Unfortunately, it happens with customers, too.”

The first officer on a GB Airways flight from the U.K. to Cyprus died in February 2008, causing a diversion to Istanbul, according to London’s Telegraph newspaper. GB Airways is a unit of easyJet Plc, a low-cost carrier based in the U.K.

A Continental pilot died in January 2007 on a flight from Houston to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, AP reported. The flight diverted to an airport in McAllen, Texas.

Airline Requirements

Airlines are required to have a captain, a first officer and a relief pilot who’s usually a first officer on all flights that are eight hours or longer, Mann said. On flights longer than 12 hours, airlines must have two complete sets of captains and first officers, he said.

All of those pilots would be qualified to fly the plane, and, in many cases, all are qualified to land it, he said. Flights often have pilots who are on vacation or are “dead- heading” on their way to work who could also help fly a plane in an emergency, he said.

U.S. airline pilots had been required to retire at age 60 from 1959 until December 2007, when President George W. Bush signed legislation increasing the age to 65. Under the new law, on international flights, the other cockpit pilot must be younger than 60.

If a death or medical emergency occurs when a plane is over or near land, the flight will typically be diverted to the nearest airport that can accommodate it, Mann said. If the plane is over water or near its destination, the flight will usually continue.

Crewmembers usually will move the body to a galley or unused seat and cover it with a blanket to shield it from other passengers, Mann said.

“The crew wants to be as sensitive as possible to the situation,” Mann said. “It’s alarming for them, too, because they’ve just lost a friend and colleague.”

[Echosoftom 3]

Poor man. That's so sad. It must have been very upsetting for the flight crew to have to keep going the rest of the way knowing their co-worker and friend has passed away.

[KansasPettyFan 1]

How terrible.

[Starfish 0]

It's tragic, and if one more person makes an "Airplane" related joke, I'm going to scream.

[WildflowerNJ 136]

Very tragic :085:.....all the crew handled that very well....

[emmie 2]

I think for alot of these professions, they should have an earlier retirement age.

[nurktwin 2,143]

i agree emmie, as long as they can get a retirement check each month at the earlier age!