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Pilot Dies In-Flight; Co-Pilot Lands Jet
MyFoxPhoenix ^ | 21JAN 2007 | MYFOXPhoenix

Posted on 01/21/2007 3:02:54 PM PST by radar101

McALLEN, Texas -- The pilot of a Continental Airlines flight became ill after takeoff and was later pronounced dead after the plane made an emergency landing Saturday, a company spokeswoman said. The 210 passengers on the flight, which departed from Houston, were never in danger and the co-pilot landed the plane safely, Continental spokeswoman Macky Osorio said.

The airline said only that the pilot suffered a "serious medical problem." Continental believes the pilot died of natural causes, Osorio said. The pilot's name was not released.

The flight, bound for Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, took off from Houston's George Bush Intercontinental Airport and was diverted to McAllen-Miller International Airport. The flight continued to Mexico with a new crew, Osorio said.


TOPICS: News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: continentalairlines
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1 posted on 01/21/2007 3:02:55 PM PST by radar101
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To: radar101

That is frightening. Thank heaven the copilot had his wits about him.


2 posted on 01/21/2007 3:03:52 PM PST by yldstrk (My heros have always been cowboys--Reagan and Bush)
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To: yldstrk

That's why there's two of 'em on board.


3 posted on 01/21/2007 3:06:13 PM PST by farlander (Strategery - sure beats liberalism!)
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To: radar101

Not particularly surprising, at most airlines the major distinction between captain and first officer is seniority (time on the property), not experience or training. In fact, with the disruptions following 9/11, there are many former captains with thousands of hours of flight time starting their careers over as first officers at other airlines (making breaking in to the industry for the next decade or two next to impossible).


4 posted on 01/21/2007 3:06:15 PM PST by Old_Mil (http://www.constitutionparty.com/)
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To: radar101

That's why we have co-pilots.


5 posted on 01/21/2007 3:09:03 PM PST by meyer (Bring back the Contract with America and you'll bring back the Republican majority.)
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To: radar101

"The airline said only that the pilot suffered a "serious medical problem." Continental believes the pilot died of natural causes..."

This is just weird, the kind of gibberish these "spokespeople" spout. Uh, the guy's dead, yeah, I think that would be a serious medical problem. And they BELIEVE he died of natural causes?? What's the alternative, an in-flight drug overdose or murder?


6 posted on 01/21/2007 3:13:29 PM PST by smalltownslick
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To: radar101

Did he eat the fish?


7 posted on 01/21/2007 3:16:46 PM PST by Jeff Chandler ("... without victory there is no survival." - Winston Churchill)
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To: radar101
Thanks for all the safe flights, fly guy. Rest in peace.

8 posted on 01/21/2007 3:22:21 PM PST by I see my hands (_8(|)
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To: yldstrk
That is frightening. Thank heaven the copilot had his wits about him.

Nothing spectacular or unusual about that. That is exactly the way the system is devised.
Copilots are fully qualified to perform all the duties of command. In fact, if the system works properly, the copilot routinely performs all the functions of the captain.

The system usually works if the Captain is not a control freak.

9 posted on 01/21/2007 3:22:22 PM PST by Publius6961 (MSM: Israelis are killed by rockets; Lebanese are killed by Israelis.)
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To: radar101
The flight, bound for Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, took off from Houston's George Bush Intercontinental Airport

Bush's fault?

10 posted on 01/21/2007 3:22:24 PM PST by umgud (The profound is only so to those that it is.)
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To: radar101
The airline said only that the pilot suffered a "serious medical problem."

Yeah, I think DEATH qualifies as a "serious medical problem".

11 posted on 01/21/2007 3:22:52 PM PST by SIDENET (Everybody was kung-fu fighting)
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To: Jeff Chandler

"thats right. i had the lasagna."


12 posted on 01/21/2007 3:23:30 PM PST by thefactor
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To: radar101

Guy had a first class medical within the past six months and dropped dead. Meanwhile, the FAA demands that recreational pilots all have medical certificates. The FAA will not discuss the fact that there is zero statistical correlation between having a medical certificate and the incidence of in-flight medical incapacitation. !@#$%^& bureaucrats.


13 posted on 01/21/2007 3:25:26 PM PST by pabianice
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To: thefactor


14 posted on 01/21/2007 3:26:06 PM PST by macmedic892 (I am serious. And don't call me Shirley.)
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To: pabianice

I had a friend who was a surgeon...always in perfect health. During an operation one day, he dropped dead. Cerebral aneurysm.


15 posted on 01/21/2007 3:27:54 PM PST by Pharmboy ([She turned me into a] Newt! in '08)
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To: radar101

Was God the co-pilot?


16 posted on 01/21/2007 3:29:51 PM PST by paulat
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Comment #17 Removed by Moderator

To: Old_Mil
" ... making breaking in to the industry for the next decade or two next to impossible"

In related news:

Delta Accepting Pilot Applications

ATLANTA, Dec. 20, 2006 – Delta Air Lines today will officially begin accepting applications for new-hire pilots in anticipation of exhausting its pilot furlough list in 2007. Interviews for new Delta first officer positions are scheduled to begin in January.

18 posted on 01/21/2007 3:40:51 PM PST by magellan
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To: radar101

This is a sad story and must have been tough on the crew.


19 posted on 01/21/2007 3:42:40 PM PST by Dr. Scarpetta
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To: Jeff Chandler
Did he eat the fish?

Eating the fish doesn't kill you, it just turns you into Jello.
20 posted on 01/21/2007 3:54:50 PM PST by Jaysun (I've never paid for sex in my life. And that's really pissed off a lot of prostitutes.)
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