Pilot Dies At Control On Flight to US

Dear Readers,

I’m sorry but I still haven’t finish my draft of the news (much later than my brother who had already published his – see it here : http://ahmadalikarim.wordpress.com/2009/06/19/pilot-died-in-flight/ ). I might finish it before the end of the day. But before it’s done, here are the copies of news from other sites…

The Independent World: Pilot Dies At Control On Flight to Us

A pilot on a Continental Airlines flight from Brussels to Newark died in mid-flight yesterday, but its 247 passengers landed safely in New Jersey under the control of two co-pilots. The 60-year-old pilot of the Boeing 777, who had worked for Continental for 32 years, apparently suffered a heart attack in mid-air. Passengers were aware that someone had been taken ill after a call was made over the public address system asking for doctors on the flight to make themselves known, but they were not told who it was that required treatment. Dr Julien Struyven, a 72-year-old cardiologist and radiologist from Brussels, answered the call but was unable to save the pilot. “He was not alive,” Dr Struyven told the Associated Press. He used a defibrillator in an attempt at resuscitation, but said that there was “no chance at all” of reviving him. In a statement released last night, Continental said: “The captain of Continental flight 61, which was en route from Brussels to Newark, died in flight, apparently of natural causes. The crew on this flight included an additional relief pilot who took the place of the deceased pilot. The flight continued safely with two pilots at the controls.”

Reuters: Pilot dies, plane lands safely in Newark

NEW YORK (Reuters) – A pilot on a Continental Airlines flight from Brussels to Newark died in mid-flight on Thursday, but the plane landed safely in New Jersey under the control of two co-pilots, authorities said on Thursday.

Continental flight 61 from Brussels landed at Newark Liberty International Airport, according to Continental’s website.

“The captain of Continental flight 61, which was en route from Brussels to Newark, died in flight, apparently of natural causes,” Continental said in a statement.

“The crew on this flight included an additional relief pilot who took the place of the deceased pilot. The flight continued safely with two pilots at the controls,” it said.

The plane was a Boeing 777 with 247 passengers on board.

The pilot, 60, was based in Newark and had worked for Continental for 32 years, the airline said. Continental has one flight daily between Brussels and Newark.

Separately, an aircraft with 89 people on board taking off from Boston’s Logan International Airport narrowly missed a truck on the runway on Thursday, in an incident described by airport authorities as “serious.”

US Airways Group Inc Flight 27 to Phoenix was taking off at 6:36 a.m. (1036 GMT) when a vehicle driven by an outside contractor working at the airport drove across the runway, airport spokesman Phil Orlandella said.

Airport authorities stripped the driver of his right to drive in the airport. The flight landed safely in Phoenix.

The Boston Globe reported that the airplane missed the truck by seconds, quoting an airport official as saying the incident was serious and would be investigated.

(Reporting by Michelle Nichols and Deepa Seetharaman in New York and Anne Jolis in Brussels, Editing by Patricia Zengerle)

CNN: Trans-Atlantic passenger jet lands safely after pilot dies

(CNN) — The pilot of Continental Flight 61 died Thursday as the plane flew from Brussels, Belgium, to Newark, New Jersey, the Federal Aviation Administration and Continental Airlines said.

Pilot Craig Lenell is shown with daughter Jennifer Lenell-Small, a former Continental employee.

The 60-year-old Newark-based pilot died of “apparently of natural causes” about halfway through the flight, the airline said. He had 32 years of service with Continental, it said.

The pilot’s family identified him to CNN as Craig Lenell.

The airline said the crew on the flight included an additional relief pilot who took the place of the deceased man, and “the flight continued safely with two pilots at the controls.” The Boeing 777 landed safely at Newark International Airport at 11:49 a.m. ET Thursday, the airline said.

No further details were given. Continental did not release the pilot’s name.

Asked whether the plane’s 247 passengers had been told of the situation, a Continental spokesman said only that the plane had arrived safely.

Passengers told CNN that they were not informed, and that the only indication of a problem was that an announcement for a doctor was made during the flight. Watch a report about airline procedures »

“I haven’t heard anything.” passenger Chris Balchuas, from Houston, Texas, told reporters after the flight. “They just said there was a medical emergency and were there any doctors aboard.”

Another passenger, Dr. Julien Struyzen, said he responded to the request for a doctor and pronounced the pilot dead.

“He was clinically dead when I came in,” Struyzen said. Flight personnel asked him if anything was possible, and he said “it was not.”

He did not give additional details.

Struyzen said all flight personnel were “very professional.” Watch the doctor talk about his experience »

Balchuas, after being told what had happened, said, “Oh, that’s scary. I didn’t know anything about that.”

He said nothing was unusual about the flight, just that about “four or five fire trucks and a whole bunch of medical emergency teams” met the plane when it landed.

Steve Coleman, a spokesman for the New York and New Jersey Port Authority, said the FAA told Newark airport officials to have emergency crews standing by for the landing.

And last but not least from my handsome younger brother Ahmad Ali Karim (see it here: http://ahmadalikarim.wordpress.com/2009/06/19/pilot-died-in-flight/)

Ahmad Ali Karim’s Weblog: Pilot Died In Flight

The pilot died during the Continental Flight 61 from Brussels, Belgium to Newark, New Jersey on Thursday.

The pilot’s family told CNN that the pilot’s name is Craig Lenell, 60 years old.

There were 3 pilots on the trans-Atlantic flight.

Trans-Atlantic flights are the flights that fly across the Atlantic Ocean.

When the pilot died the two other pilots flew the Boeing 777 and landed at Newark International Airport at 11:49 AM ET Thursday.

ET means the North America Eastern Time Zone.

All the 247 passengers were safe and only knew that the pilot died when they reached Newark.

I think the pilot’s family are very sad because the pilot died.

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