Alaska Airlines Plane Lands Safely After Pilot Loses Consciousne - Spokane, North Idaho News & Weather KHQ.com

UPDATE: Alaska Airlines Plane Lands Safely After Pilot Loses Consciousness

UPDATE: An Alaska Airlines spokesman says a pilot who lost consciousness while flying from Los Angeles to Seattle was suffering from food poisoning or a stomach virus.
    
The co-pilot safely landed the Boeing 737 with 121 passengers and crew on board in Portland, Ore., Thursday night after declaring an emergency.
    
Airline spokesman Paul McElroy says the pilot is in good condition Friday after doctors examined him at a hospital.
    
McElroy says the pilot has been flying for Seattle-based Alaska Air Group Inc. for 28 years and was current on his six-month medical evaluation.
    
He says pilots are highly encouraged to report if they're not feeling well, but the pilot felt fine when he reported for duty, and his dizziness and fainting came very suddenly.

PREVIOUS COVERAGE:

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) - An Alaska Airlines spokesman says a Seattle-bound jetliner made an emergency landing in Portland, Ore., after the pilot lost consciousness.
    
Airline spokesman Paul McElroy says the co-pilot landed Flight 473 safely Thursday night after declaring an emergency to get priority care for the pilot.
    
The spokesman says the pilot lost consciousness "somewhere over Oregon." He later regained consciousness and left the cockpit. McElroy says a doctor on board tended to him in the cabin. The pilot has been taken to a hospital but there was no immediate word on his condition.
    
The Boeing 737-700 with 116 passengers and five crew members left Los Angeles about 6:30 p.m. PST and touched down in Portland at about 9 p.m.
    
McElroy says the pilot has been flying for Alaska for 28 years and was current on his six-month medical evaluation.


(Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)