ALBAWABA- An off-duty pilot stepped in to help Wednesday after a Southwest pilot suffered a medical emergency, airline officials said.
Southwest Flight 6013 was en route from Las Vegas to Columbus, Ohio when the pilot had a medical emergency, Southwest Airlines said in a statement. According to air traffic control, the pilot had stomach pain and fainted.
“A credentialed Pilot from another airline, who was on board, entered the Flight Deck and assisted with radio communication while our Southwest Pilot flew the aircraft,” said airline spokesperson Chris Perry. “We greatly appreciate their support and assistance.”
A nurse who was also on board helped care for the pilot, the airline said.
(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); -->“The captain became incapacitated while enroute. He’s in the back of the aircraft right now with a flight attendant, but we need to get him on an ambulance immediately,” a member of the flight crew is heard saying in air traffic control audio from LiveATC.net.
According to Las Vegas resident Diane McGlinchey, who was on the flight with her husband, the crew "calmly just would give us an update saying we're going to go back to Las Vegas, we have a medical emergency on board."
The plane landed safely back in Las Vegas and emergency responders tended to the captain.
The Federal Aviation Administration will investigate the incident, it said
