Jet Heading to Newark With Dead Pilot

[omad]

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June 18, 2009, 11:04 am

Jet Heading to Newark With Dead Pilot

By Al Baker AND Sewell Chan

Updated, 11:24 a.m. | The pilot of a Continental Airlines jetliner died midflight on Thursday morning as the plane was en route from Brussels to Newark, N.J., the authorities said. Two first officers were operating the plane, a Boeing 777. The flight, Flight 61, was expected to land at Newark Liberty International Airport at noon.

Two first officers are “on board the aircraft” and piloting it, “which they are perfectly qualified to do,” said Arlene Salac, a spokeswoman for the Federal Aviation Administration at John F. Kennedy International Airport.

The cause and manner of the pilot’s death were not immediately clear, and it was also not clear how many passengers were on board. The Boeing 777 can accommodate upwards of 300 passengers.

The flight took off at 9:54 a.m. in Brussels (3:54 a.m. Eastern time), according to Continental’s Web site, which said the flight is to land at 12 noon at Gate C123. (Follow the flight’s progress at FlightAware.)

As of 11 a.m., the plane was in the skies over Canada, having followed its route south over Newfoundland.

Federal authorities received notification of the emergency at 10:30 a.m. Information was reported to federal aviation officials from the air-traffic system on the ground, which was communicating directly with the cockpit, Ms. Salac said. “They did declare an emergency,” she said. “They will receive priority handling.”

full article

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Two first officers are on board and currently piloting it. ETA is 12:00 noon eastern time at Newark Airport about 30 mins from this posting.

This is sad.

[Tarmac]

One good reason why there are two or more pilots onboard.

[nirdle_phogi]

hadloka ani sah? wa kaha ni foulplay?

[Motownkid]

maayo kay kalma ra ang crew wala naka create ug panic among the passengers. To the veteran pilot, RIP.

[haroldjizdeortega]

One good reason why there are two or more pilots onboard.

mao. sa-un nalag wa. pwede autopilot?

[tatadeasis]

mao. sa-un nalag wa. pwede autopilot?

nope, autopilot cannot land a plane by itself. Could have been a disaster if not because of the co-pilots.

[Tarmac]

Autopilot can land the plane but the crew inside will need to set it up ahead of time.

Last year naay PAL captain nag stroke, gipulihan siya sa iyang First Officer and nakalanding ra pud sila.

[junmar4]

Autopilot can land the plane but the crew inside will need to set it up ahead of time.

Last year naay PAL captain nag stroke, gipulihan siya sa iyang First Officer and nakalanding ra pud sila.

Most of the time the pilot and the first officer (co-pilot) exchanges roles. That is, kung kinsa nagtake off the other will land, and vice versa. Therefore, the 2 first officers are very much capable of landing the plane.

[Tarmac]

Most of the time the pilot and the first officer (co-pilot) exchanges roles. That is, kung kinsa nagtake off the other will land, and vice versa. Therefore, the 2 first officers are very much capable of landing the plane.

Actually, they alternate legs. For example, kung ang flight Manila-Cebu-Manila, one will fly Manila-Cebu, the other one flies Cebu-Manila. Nowadays, people use the term Pilot Flying (PF) and Pilot Not Flying (PNF) to define the roles. So while one is responsible for flying the aircraft the other one does things like radio communication, reading checklists and operating controls like flaps, spoilers, landing gear, lights, etc... and of course backing up the PF and monitoring the flight. Usahay mas busy gani ang PNF.

But of course final authority for the conduct of the flight will always rest with the captain.

[blackdronza]

hadloka ani sah? wa kaha ni foulplay?

The blackbox could answer this case.