United Airlines Pilot Suffers Heart Attack During Flight

United Airlines Pilot Suffers Heart Attack During Flight

Despite initially conflicting reports about the identity of the crew member, a United Airlines spokesperson has confirmed that it wasindeed the pilot of a Seattle-bound flight who suffered a fatal heart attack during the flight on Thursday evening, prompting an emergency landing in Idaho.

via NBC News

A pilot suffered an apparent heart attack in midair aboard a United Airlines flight to Seattle on Thursday evening, and later died after the plane was forced to make an emergency landing in Boise, Idaho, a hospital spokeswoman told NBC News.

A doctor and military personnel reportedly attempted to save the pilot’s life by administering CPR amid a dramatic scene, as another passenger rushed to help get the plane safely to the ground.

United Airlines spokeswoman Christen David said that the flight’s captain was the individual involved in an email to NBC News.

The pilot was alive when he arrived at the local hospital but died during the night while being treated, hospital spokeswoman Jennifer Krajnik told the Associated Press.

What a terrifying moment this must have been for that flight crew! Our condolences go out to the family of this pilot that lost his life so suddenly.