Pilot dies in flight, plane lands safely in Newark


A Continental Airlines flight from Europe landed safely in Newark, N.J. after the pilot died in flight, prompting a mid-air emergency.


Two first officers immediately took over the controls, and later landed the plane around noon at Newark Liberty International Airport.

Emergency vehicles were on hand as a precaution, but the plane, a Boeing 777, landed without incident just before noon, under wet conditions.

Some 247 people were on board Flight 61, which left Brussels, Belgium for Newark.

Continental says the pilot, age 61, died of natural causes. He had 21 years of flying experience.

The Federal Aviation Administration says a medical doctor was on board the flight and pronounced the pilot dead. His body was removed from the cockpit to the crew rest area.

Federal authorities received notification of the emergency at 10:30 a.m.

The FAA says information was reported to federal aviation officials from the air-traffic system on the ground, which was communicating directly with the cockpit. A spokesperson says, "they did declare an emergency."

Julie King, a spokesperson for Continental, said "the crew on this flight included an additional relief pilot who took the place of the deceased pilot," adding, "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."

There have been previous instances of pilots dying during flights, including:

April 2009: a passenger landed a privately operated twin-engine plane at Southwest Florida International Airport, in Fort Myers, and saved four lives, after the pilot died after takeoff. The passenger, Doug White, whose family was on the plane, only had experience flying single-engine planes, but with the help of traffic controllers, he landed the plane safely.

February 2008: a British Airways flight operated by GB Airways, which had left Manchester, England, heading for Paphos, in Cyprus, was diverted to Istanbul after one of the first officers died. None of the 156 passengers was hurt.

January 2007: a pilot of a Continental 757 bound from Houston to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, died after takeoff, with 210 passengers were on board. The flight landed safely after being diverted to McAllen-Miller International Airport in Texas.

Such a sad situation for the crew and assisting passengers in. There wouldn't have been a problem with the first officer flying, as usually they take it in turns anyway and are perfectly capable - the only difference being that in this situation, if there had been an emergency, they would have been running the show instead of the captain.
Rest in peace.