Crew dragged AC co-pilot off jet at Shannon after mid-air scare
 

http://www.independent.ie/national-n...e-1276356.html

MORE than a hundred passengers aboard an Air Canada flight from Toronto to London were forced to divert to Shannon yesterday after the co-pilot suffered what appeared to be a nervous breakdown in mid-air.

Officials at Shannon Airport last night confirmed that the male co-pilot was admitted to the psychiatric unit of the Ennis General Hospital in Co Clare yesterday after he was forcibly taken off the flight by fellow crew members and an off-duty member of the Canadian Armed Forces who assisted in restraining him.

Air Canada flight AC848, en route from Toronto's Pearson International Airport to London Heathrow, was diverted to Shannon with less than an hour to go before reaching its intended destination after the co-pilot began "acting in a peculiar manner and was talking loudly to himself," during the transatlantic crossing, according to aviation sources.

The Boeing 767-333 series jet, carrying 149 passengers, including three infants, landed safely at Shannon shortly before 8am yesterday where a medical doctor and ambulance crew were waiting to attend to the co-pilot.

Stunned passengers, some of whom are believed to have witnessed the bizarre scene, were taken to local hotels to await a replacement cabin crew in order to continue their journey on to London.

I saw that article too -- amazing that it was only an 8 hour delay. I wonder what really happened?

I was on that flight and it mostly happened as described in the article. It was quite an experience! He was being restrained in 12A and the entire mini-cabin could here the whole thing. Not for delicate ears. The soldier and the doctors (who were passengers) were great.

Quick correction, though... There were no hotels. We were given 15E vouchers for sandwiches at lunch and then just waited around hoping for information. They ended up flying a 767 to deliver a new crew - I don't know how they are going to get that back :).

I was so delayed and exhausted that I ended up staying at a hotel in Manchester instead of making it all the way home. At least I got some HHonors points out of it :).

Dr. PITUK

air canada diversion to Shannon
 

Hello Dr PITUK

I am trying to report on this story. May I ring you?
many thanks

Echoes of the JAL DC-8 that landed in the San Francisco bay...


(I guess AC may have some explaining to do on this one.)

your report made it onto CBC news this morning
http://www.cbc.ca/world/story/2008/0...a-copilot.html (in the video, right side)

they also manage to try and discredit you... "it may be a false claim":P

nancy durham calling dr pituk
 

hi i'm the cbc reporter who mentioned your blog. i reported that my blogger contact told me you appeared to be legit, but we all need to verify our sources. i see you're on line now - may i call you? thanks very much
nancy

Maybe the crew should carry Tasers;) - the Western Canadian solution

An Air Canada co-pilot who fell ill in the cockpit during a flight from Toronto to London has been admitted to an Irish hospital for psychiatric care, according to a report from the Irish Independent.

The pilot of Flight 848 was forced to make an emergency landing in Shannon, Ireland, at about 8 a.m. local time Monday after his co-pilot suffered what appeared to be a nervous breakdown, the report said.

"We were told that there was to be an emergency landing due to a crew person taking ill," Shannon Airport Authority spokesman Eugene Pratt said Tuesday.

Pratt said the airport did not dispatch any emergency crews to treat the 149 passengers on board but paramedics and a doctor were called in for the co-pilot. He did not disclose the identity of the co-pilot and would not confirm where he had been taken for treatment.

The passengers, however, were transferred to a local hotel to wait for another crew to arrive prior to boarding another flight to London.

Pratt added that Shannon, which is about 200 kilometres east of Dublin, often sees emergency landings due to its geographical location.

"If you look at where we're located, and considering the amount of aviation that comes over the Atlantic, there are times that a warning light comes on or a heart attack happens on board and planes have to make an emergency landing," he said. "Very often, it's Shannon. It's not an infrequent occurrence."

The original flight left Toronto's Pearson International Airport just after 8 p.m. Sunday.

The passengers finally arrived at their destination, London's Heathrow Airport, around 4 p.m. local time, about eight hours behind schedule, Pratt said.

An Air Canada spokesman could not be reached for comment Tuesday morning.

painintheuk: check the professional pilots website. You are mentioned in post # 16

http://www.pprune.org/forums/showthread.php?t=310807

Could have been worse. He could have taken control of the aircraft and dived it into the ocean, just like that Air Egypt plane several years ago!

Thank GOD he wasn't in the cockpit at the time of going bonkers ! ^:rolleyes:

Ms. Durham also succeeds in mangling the name of this website, from which she sources the sole eyewitness account of her piece, and incorrectly refers to it as a "blog", all in less than three minutes of air time.

Edward R. Murrow she ain't.

It wasn't really though. . . There was a whole interview with someone from Shannon airport.

to dr Pituk
 

hi sorry, i'm back now