Advertisement

American Airlines plane diverted after pilot becomes ill, dies

By Tomas Monzon
A pilot fell ill and later died on a Monday flight from Phoenix to Boston. Photo by Bill Greenblatt/UPI
A pilot fell ill and later died on a Monday flight from Phoenix to Boston. Photo by Bill Greenblatt/UPI | License Photo

BOSTON, Oct. 5 (UPI) -- An American Airlines flight en route from Phoenix to Boston was diverted Monday after the pilot became ill and died, airline officials said.

American Airlines Flight 550 left Phoenix shortly before midnight Sunday and was scheduled to land at Boston's Logan Airport at around 8 a.m. A company spokeswoman told WBZ-TV that one of the pilots on board got sick during the flight, forcing the plane to divert to Hancock Airport in Syracuse, N.Y., around 7 a.m.

Advertisement

Five crew members, including the pilot, and 147 passengers were on board the flight.

The spokeswoman said the company is focused on supporting the pilot's family.

It was not revealed whether the pilot died while the plane was in flight or after the landing. His identity has not been made public and he was not taken to a hospital upon touchdown. A replacement crew then manned the plane and departed for Boston around 11 a.m., landing at Logan Airport around 12:30 p.m.

Recordings of the crew's conversations with air traffic controllers revealed that a crew member onboard said "captain is incapacitated" and "pilot is unresponsive, not breathing" at different points in time.

Advertisement

Passengers were also in the dark as to whether the pilot had died mid-flight. They told WBZ-TV that emergency workers' slow pace of work upon landing suggested he had already died.

Latest Headlines