Free Republic

Albuquerque businessman Stephen W. Brown doesn't consider himself a hero. But when a medical emergency struck down the captain of a nearly full Continental Airlines jet flying to Mexico, Brown climbed out of his passenger seat and into the cockpit. The 47-year-old licensed private pilot, who usually flies a single-engine Cessna, helped land the Boeing 757-300 loaded with 209 other passengers at McAllen-Miller International Airport in McAllen, Texas, on Saturday. The plane had taken off from Houston on a flight to Puerto Vallarta when the co-pilot called for help. Brown responded. "Yes, it was a rush," Brown told the Journal...

Steve Sweeney, his wife and a group of friends left Philadelphia early Saturday morning. They flew to Houston and then boarded their connecting flight en route to Puerto Vallarta. But while in the air, heading into Mexico, Sweeney said the passengers were issued an alert. "The co-pilot came over on the loud speaker saying if there was a doctor on board and after about 10-15 minutes they asked if there was a pilot on board," Sweeney said. Immediately, he knew something was wrong. "It was scary, my wife got nervous, she was thinking that my daughters wedding is in...