American Airlines pilot dies mid-flight; flight lands in Syracuse
Photo Courtesy of American Airlines
An American Airlines pilot flying from Phoenix to Boston died mid-flight this morning and the plane landed in Syracuse, according to ABC. The above courtesy photo is not a photo of the plane that was forced to land in Syracuse.
Updated: Oct. 5, 2015 at 11:20 p.m.
American Airlines Flight 550 was forced to land in Syracuse Monday morning after the pilot died mid-flight due to a medical emergency.
Michael Johnston, 57, was flying from Phoenix to Boston when the plane made an emergency landing in Syracuse at 7:13 a.m. Johnston died of natural causes, according to multiple reports.
There were 147 passengers and five crewmembers — including the pilot and co-pilot — on board when the plane was forced to land, according to multiple reports.
“Unfortunately our pilot passed away. We are incredibly saddened by this event and we are focused on caring for our pilot’s family and colleagues,” Michelle Mohr, a spokeswoman for American Airlines, said in a Washington Post article.
Recordings of the crew’s communications with air traffic control, obtained by ABC News via liveatc.net, revealed that someone on the plane called in saying that the “captain is incapacitated” and then later that the “pilot is unresponsive, not breathing.”
One of the flight attendants on the plane is a nurse and was trying to assist the pilot, said an airline spokesperson, according to ABC News.
All United States airlines are required to have two pilots on board, and there were two on the flight, according to ABC News.
A separate crew was brought in to assist the flight from Syracuse to Boston. The flight arrived safely Monday afternoon, according to The Washington Post.
Published on October 5, 2015 at 1:38 pm
Contact Sara: smswann@syr.edu | @saramswann
