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Alaska Airlines plane lands safely after pilot passes out

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CBS NEWS/ February 1, 2013, 1:20 AM
Alaska Airlines plane lands safely after pilot passes out
Updated 3 a.m. EST

 

PORTLAND, ORE.An Alaska Airlines jetliner bound for Seattle made an emergency landing in Portland, Ore., Thursday night after the pilot lost consciousness, an airline spokesman said.

 

The co-pilot landed Flight 473 safely after declaring an emergency to get priority care for the pilot, spokesman Paul McElroy said. All of the airlines' pilots are trained to fly single-handedly.

 

The pilot lost consciousness "somewhere over Oregon," McElroy said, then later regained consciousness and left the cockpit. A doctor on board the flight tended to him in the cabin until the plane landed and was met by medical personnel on the runway.

 

The pilot, who was not identified, was taken to a hospital but there was no immediate word on his condition, McElroy said.

 

The Boeing 737-700, with 116 passengers and five crew members on board, left Los Angeles about 6:30 p.m. and was diverted to Portland, touching down there at about 9 p.m., reports CBS Portland affiliate KOIN-TV. It had been due to arrive in Seattle at 9:30 p.m.

 

McElroy says the pilot has been flying for Alaska for 28 years and was current on his six-month medical evaluation. The co-pilot is an 11-year Alaska Air veteran.

 

On Jan. 22, the co-pilot on an Alaska Airlines flight from Seattle to Las Vegas fainted briefly, and the pilot requested emergency landing priority to get prompt medical assistance for him.

 

"At this point, we do not believe there was a connection between the two incidents," McElvoy said.

 

Twenty passengers with a tight schedule for connecting flights were put on a Horizon Air shuttle flight to Seattle on Thursday night, the spokesman said.

 

A new pilot was dispatched to Portland to fly the remaining passengers to Seattle on board the same plane.

 

© 2013 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved.

 

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-201_162-57567052/alaska-airlines-plane-lands-safely-after-pilot-passes-out/

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Funny when the article headline sounds like the captain is flying all alone, and the first officer is just a deadweight. And when he land the plane safely, it sounds like a miracle.

 

In real life (at least with the airline I fly with) the captain can be dead and vaporized, the first officer should be able to fly and land the aircraft without any issue at all. That is what the "pilot incap" training is all about.

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