US/AA 550 (PHX-BOS) diverted to SYR, pilot passes away in flight
Oct 5, 2015, 2:51 pm
#31
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Technically, it's a US flight number with an AA codeshare and operated by a US-configured aircraft, but with systems integration less than two weeks away, there's decreasing difference and I would expect this forum to be de-emphasized on or shortly after the 17th.
Oct 5, 2015, 3:02 pm
#32
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Yes, I would read "illness" as meaning it wasn't an act of violence, slip/fall, etc. Heart attack would fall in the "illness" bucket, IMHO.
Oct 5, 2015, 3:32 pm
#33
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SYR is my home airport.
What seems infuriating to me, after listening to the ATC feeds, is that our own tower originally told the cockpit to proceed over to the deicing pad where it would be met by rescue. It wasnt until after the First Officer asked if rescue had any way to get inside the plane, that the Syracuse tower then told them to proceed to gate 6 and that rescue would meet them there.
You would think that the SYR tower would know its own capabilities for rescue to board a plane for a medical emergency? Am I crazy?
What seems infuriating to me, after listening to the ATC feeds, is that our own tower originally told the cockpit to proceed over to the deicing pad where it would be met by rescue. It wasnt until after the First Officer asked if rescue had any way to get inside the plane, that the Syracuse tower then told them to proceed to gate 6 and that rescue would meet them there.
You would think that the SYR tower would know its own capabilities for rescue to board a plane for a medical emergency? Am I crazy?
Oct 5, 2015, 7:52 pm
#34
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Is the AA SOP to land at closest airport when this happens? It seems to a nonpilot like me SYR is only 15-20 minutes closer to PHX than BOS? Or was it to get emergent aid to the pilot, in which case that time would be critical?
Oct 5, 2015, 7:53 pm
#35
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Is the AA SOP to land at closest airport when this happens? It seems to a nonpilot like me SYR is only 15-20 minutes closer to PHX than BOS? Or was it to get emergent aid to the pilot, in which case that time would be critical?
Oct 5, 2015, 8:00 pm
#36
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15-20 minute could be critical in a situation like this. And the time difference may well have been more like 45 minutes. It appears to have been the right choice.
Oct 5, 2015, 8:10 pm
#37
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Having flown over SYR numerous times to/from BOS, it is at least 30-40 minutes to fly SYR-BOS.
Oct 5, 2015, 9:01 pm
#38
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BOS can also have significant additional taxi time if weather conditions that day force you to come in on a runway that's in the vicinity of New Hampshire. Even if you're talking about emergency vehicles on the tarmac, it's still probably going to probably take longer to get a plane parked somewhere that they've got easy ambulance access for compared to a lower traffic/lower footprint regional airport.
Oct 5, 2015, 10:02 pm
#39
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I happen to know the brother of the pilot and my wife is good friends with his wife (the brother's wife, not the pilot's). I don't know if his name has been released publicly yet so I'll refrain from using it. She said that he didn't have any medical issues they knew about and that they're still waiting for the autopsy to know what happened. She did say that American Airlines has been great through all of this, that they reached our personally and offered to fly their family out for the funeral as well as that of his other siblings and parents from around the country.
While that doesn't change the fact that this is still a tragedy for a man who should have had many years left, its good to know that AA has obviously made things easier for the family during this difficult time.
While that doesn't change the fact that this is still a tragedy for a man who should have had many years left, its good to know that AA has obviously made things easier for the family during this difficult time.
Oct 5, 2015, 10:32 pm
#40
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The only thing particularly stringent about the first class medical is the ECG. And professional pilots (and controllers for that matter) have a pretty strong incentive to avoid going to their “real” doctor for any reason in case an issue is found that might disqualify them, so any potential issues are more likely to go untreated.
Oct 5, 2015, 11:07 pm
#41
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Thank God the co-pilot was not in the Rest Room and locked out of the Cockpit.
Anybody know what the situation would have been had that occurred. Does a FA have to go into The Cockpit in that situation?
Anybody know what the situation would have been had that occurred. Does a FA have to go into The Cockpit in that situation?
Oct 5, 2015, 11:45 pm
#42
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The only thing particularly stringent about the first class medical is the ECG. And professional pilots (and controllers for that matter) have a pretty strong incentive to avoid going to their “real” doctor for any reason in case an issue is found that might disqualify them, so any potential issues are more likely to go untreated.
http://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-idx....2.1.6&idno=14
I was told in the past that an exercise treadmill test was required, with reasonably robust performance.
https://www.faa.gov/about/office_org...aded_exercise/
Hmm....
Oct 6, 2015, 12:36 am
#43
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http://www.cbsnews.com/news/american...ht-identified/
CBS affiliate KUTV reports that Johnston lives in West Jordan, Utah, and has been flying for well over 25 years according to his family. BJ Johnston, his wife, says she's been told that her husband likely died of a heart attack.
She says her husband had a double bypass surgery in 2006. Since that time he has been required to get a physical every six months to make sure he was healthy enough to fly.
"He has had problems with his heart," Johnston's wife told KUTV. "He seemed perfectly fine."
She says her husband had a double bypass surgery in 2006. Since that time he has been required to get a physical every six months to make sure he was healthy enough to fly.
"He has had problems with his heart," Johnston's wife told KUTV. "He seemed perfectly fine."
Oct 6, 2015, 2:28 am
#44
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Yes, whenever one of the pilots goes to the bathroom, a FA waits in the cockpit for exactly this reason.
Oct 6, 2015, 5:26 am
#45
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"The US Federal Aviation Administration said seven pilots for US airlines and one charter pilot had died during flights since 1994."
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-34453146
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-34453146