Passenger saves pilot in mid-air drama
An airline passenger saved the captain’s life after he apparently suffered a heart-attack in the cockpit.
Linda Alweiss, a nurse, told news channel KTLA of the drama that unfolded at 30,000 feet as she was flying from Des Moines to Denver in the US with her husband and 16-year-old daughter.
She said she rushed to respond to a call from the United Airlines’ flight crew for medical assistance about 20 minutes into the trip, and found the pilot slumped in the cockpit.
Alweiss and another nurse onboard, Amy Sorenson, managed with the help of other passengers to pull the captain into the galley where they set up a diagnostic defibrillator and administered an IV.
The co-pilot managed to land the plane in Omaha, where an emergency medical team was waiting on the tarmac to treat the captain.
A spokesman for the airline said: "United flight 1637, a Boeing 737 operating between Des Moines and Denver Monday evening, landed safely in Omaha after the captain became ill.
"United accommodated the customers overnight, and they continued to Denver the next day."
Linsey McNeill
Editor Linsey McNeill has been writing about travel for more than three decades. Bylines include The Times, Telegraph, Observer, Guardian and Which? plus the South China Morning Post. She also shares insider tips on thetraveljournalist.co.uk
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