Day after one US pilot dies, another passes out
United flight with 177 passengers on board diverts to Albuquerque, in second cockpit drama in two days
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ALBUQUERQUE, New Mexico — A United Airlines flight carrying nearly 200 people from Houston to San Francisco had to divert to Albuquerque, New Mexico, after the co-pilot passed out Tuesday.
Air-traffic controllers got word shortly after 8 a.m. that the plane would be landing after the first officer, who is second in command, had a medical episode, Albuquerque airport spokesman Dan Jiron said. The plane landed without incident around 8:20 a.m.
The co-pilot regained consciousness and was able to walk off the plane to be transported to a local hospital, Jiron said. He had no details about the co-pilot’s condition or what may have caused the episode.
An airline spokeswoman said 177 passengers and 10 crew members were aboard the plane. United did not release any details about the co-pilot.
The diversion comes a day after an American Airlines captain became gravely ill while flying from Phoenix to Boston. He later died. The flight was diverted and the first officer landed the plane safely in Syracuse, New York.
According to the FAA, seven pilots for U.S. airlines and one charter pilot have died during flights since 1994.
Captains and co-pilots usually take turns flying the plane and doing takeoffs and landings, said James Record, a former airline pilot who now teaches aviation at Dowling College in Oakdale, New York.
“The advantage to that is the co-pilot gets an equal amount of experience, and the captain gets to see how the other guy flies,” he said.
The Times of Israel Community.