473 diverts to PDX - pilot medical emergency
Feb 1, 2013, 12:27 am
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: Scottsdale, AZ
Programs: AA EXP
Posts: 325
473 diverts to PDX - pilot medical emergency
Feb 1, 2013, 12:47 am
#2
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend, Moderator, Information Desk, Ambassador, Alaska Airlines
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: FAI
Programs: AS MVP Gold100K, AS 1MM, Maika`i Card, AGR, HH Gold, Hertz PC, Marriott Titanium LTG, CO, 7H, BA, 8E
Posts: 42,953
Wirelessly posted (beckoa's PWP wondrousdevice3.0: Mozilla/5.0 (BlackBerry; U; BlackBerry 9810; en-US) AppleWebKit/534.11+ (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/7.1.0.694 Mobile Safari/534.11+)
Wow. Hope everything turns out ok
Wow. Hope everything turns out ok
Feb 1, 2013, 8:14 am
#3
Join Date: Aug 2012
Location: LON
Programs: AS MVPG, Marriott Titanium, UA Silver
Posts: 1,350
Very glad everyone is alright. A colleague of mine was on the plane, too.
http://avherald.com/h?article=45d14284&opt=0
http://avherald.com/h?article=45d14284&opt=0
Feb 1, 2013, 4:22 pm
#4
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: Between BLI & PAE.
Programs: Nada of note these days….
Posts: 1,287
Appears that he might have dined at one of the less than stellar dining establishments near LAX...
http://blogs.seattletimes.com/today/...lots-collapse/
http://blogs.seattletimes.com/today/...lots-collapse/
Feb 1, 2013, 4:52 pm
#5
Join Date: Apr 2011
Location: Treasure Coast, FL
Programs: DL Diamond, Marriott LT Plat, HH Diamond, Avis Preferred Plus, National Executive
Posts: 4,578
Appears that he might have dined at one of the less than stellar dining establishments near LAX...
http://blogs.seattletimes.com/today/...lots-collapse/
http://blogs.seattletimes.com/today/...lots-collapse/
Feb 1, 2013, 5:09 pm
#6
Join Date: Sep 2012
Location: CLE
Programs: DL GM, UA G, AS 75k, IHG Plt
Posts: 50
Doctors suspect food poisoning or a flu virus caused an Alaska Airlines captain to pass out on a Seattle-bound flight last night, according to an airline spokesman.
If this turns out to be the cause I couldn't blame the Captain for heading into work that day or for thinking he/she could get through the flight and get home when symptoms started.
Thankfully the First Officer was a well trained veteran and landed the aircraft without incident. Nice work!
Feb 1, 2013, 8:02 pm
#7
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Mar 2004
Location: SGF
Programs: AS, AA, UA, AGR S (former 75K, GLD, 1K, and S+, now an elite peon)
Posts: 23,194
Feb 1, 2013, 8:07 pm
#8
Suspended
Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: Atherton, CA
Programs: UA 1K, AA EXP; Owner, Green Bay Packers
Posts: 21,690
Feb 1, 2013, 10:28 pm
#9
Join Date: Sep 2012
Location: CLE
Programs: DL GM, UA G, AS 75k, IHG Plt
Posts: 50
Valid point. I didn't mean to imply that the copilot was in any way less than qualified to land an aircraft. Having your pilot pass out mid-flight is an exceptional situation that could have caused panic in many people. This pilot was not one of those.
Feb 2, 2013, 5:55 am
#10
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Mar 2004
Location: SGF
Programs: AS, AA, UA, AGR S (former 75K, GLD, 1K, and S+, now an elite peon)
Posts: 23,194
Wasn't just you; I quoted you for convenience, but I was mostly expressing confusion over all the news reports that seemed to emphasize that even more strongly than you did.
Feb 3, 2013, 4:06 pm
#11
Join Date: Apr 2010
Programs: United 1K, Hyatt Diamond, Starwood Platinum
Posts: 119
I saw this in October on a United flight. Was sitting in first and the pilot stumbled back into the cabin, then fainted in front of passengers. Several flight attendants were there to catch him as he collapsed, and he rested the duration of the flight in coach. No panic, no diversion and I don't believe it made the news.
Feb 4, 2013, 10:07 pm
#12
Join Date: Oct 2012
Programs: AS MVP Gold
Posts: 15
I've never had any flight training, but I know a few of the FT folks here have. From what I understand autopilot can do some amazing things, including landing the plane.
I know pilots are supposed to eat separate meals to avoid this, but let's say both these pilots got sick and passed out. If autopilot had been engaged is there any way the plane would continued on course, making adjustments when needed, and landed the plane without incident?
I know pilots are supposed to eat separate meals to avoid this, but let's say both these pilots got sick and passed out. If autopilot had been engaged is there any way the plane would continued on course, making adjustments when needed, and landed the plane without incident?
Feb 4, 2013, 11:41 pm
#13
Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: PAC NW
Programs: SPG Platinum
Posts: 376
I've never had any flight training, but I know a few of the FT folks here have. From what I understand autopilot can do some amazing things, including landing the plane.
I know pilots are supposed to eat separate meals to avoid this, but let's say both these pilots got sick and passed out. If autopilot had been engaged is there any way the plane would continued on course, making adjustments when needed, and landed the plane without incident?
I know pilots are supposed to eat separate meals to avoid this, but let's say both these pilots got sick and passed out. If autopilot had been engaged is there any way the plane would continued on course, making adjustments when needed, and landed the plane without incident?