Flight Attendant Helps Land Plane After Co-Pilot's Mental Breakdown

DUBLIN, Ireland — An Air Canada co-pilot having a mental breakdown had to be forcibly removed from the cockpit, restrained and sedated, and a stewardess with flying experience helped the pilot safely make an emergency landing, an Irish investigation concluded Wednesday.

The report by the Irish Air Accident Investigation Unit into an incident in January applauded the decision-making of the pilot and the cockpit skills of the flight attendant, who stepped into the co-pilot's seat for the emergency diversion to Shannon Airport in western Ireland.

None of the 146 passengers or other nine crew members on board the Boeing 767 bound from Toronto to London was injured after the 58-year-old co-pilot had to be removed by attendants and sedated by two doctors on board.

The report did not identify any of the Air Canada crew by name. Nor did it specify the psychiatric diagnosis for the co-pilot, who was hospitalized for 11 days in Irish mental wards before being flown by air ambulance back to Canada.

It said the co-pilot was a licensed veteran with more than 6,500 hours' flying time, about half on board Boeing 767s, and had recently passed a medical examination.

But it said the pilot noticed immediately that his co-pilot was not in good professional shape on the day of the flight, arriving late to the cockpit after all the safety checks and paperwork had been completed. He reported that the co-pilot's behavior worsened once they were airborne, and the co-pilot advised him to take a lengthy break for naps and a meal.

As the aircraft reached the middle of the Atlantic, the report said, the co-pilot began talking in a "rambling and disjointed" manner, took another nap, and then refused to buckle his seat belt or observe other safety procedures when he returned to the cockpit.

The pilot concluded that his colleague was now so "belligerent and uncooperative" that he couldn't do his job.

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The report said the pilot summoned several flight attendants to remove the co-pilot from the cockpit, and one flight attendant suffered an injured wrist in the struggle. Doctors from Britain and Canada on board determined that the co-pilot was confused and disoriented.

The report did not mention how the co-pilot was restrained. Departing passengers at the time said his arms and legs had been tied up to keep him under control.

The pilot then asked flight attendants to find out if any passenger was a qualified pilot. When none was found, one stewardess admitted she held a current commercial pilot's license but said her license for reading cockpit instruments had expired.

"The flight attendant provided useful assistance to the commander, who remarked in a statement to the investigation that she was `not out of place' while occupying the right-hand seat," the report said.

___

On the Net:

Report, http://www.aaiu.ie/upload/general/11139-0.pdf

Comments

[tossytosser]

Sounds like a normal day on Aer Lingus.

[mlaiuppa]

What? No one had stayed at a Howard Johnson's?

[johnqsittinzen]

Howard Johnson is right!

And you are wrong.

Holiday Inn Express ;).

[SoCalGuy 93065]

One minor nitpick - there's no such thing as a "license for reading cockpit instruments", though there is a rating for flying solely by reference to instruments (i.e. in clouds and/or restricted visibility) - and that never really "expires" as such, it just has to be kept current by recent instrument flying experience (I won't bore you with the details) otherwise it's not legal to use.

[springsm]

Sounds to me that she was just FYIing..an­d not trying to say that she was legally qualified at that time. Or are you showing off. I give this woman credit for stepping up and credit to the pilot for guiding them through this. sheesh

[SoCalGuy 93065]

How am I "showing off" by correcting a factual error in the story? Your aviation credentials would be what exactly?

[Barticus]

If it's not legal to use because it's not current, then it has expired.

[SoCalGuy 93065]

No - there's no expiration on any pilot certificate.

[SoCalGuy 93065]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pilot_certification_in_the_United_States

Airman certificates other than student pilot certificates do not expire, although they may be suspended or revoked by the FAA. However, a pilot must maintain currency — recent flight experience that is relevant to the flight being undertaken. To remain active, every pilot has to undergo a flight review with an instructor every 24 calendar months (unless he gains a new pilot certificate or rating in that time), and, for most types of certificate, undergo a medical examination at intervals ranging from six months to five years, depending on the pilot's age and desired flight privileges. Other currency requirements apply to the carriage of passengers or to flight under instrument flight rules (IFR).

[killmenow]

I wonder what was wrong with that co-pilot? That's very sad. I hope he recovers with treatment.

[nabrum]

I wonder how they got the copilot out of his seat. The cockpit is a small constrained area. A flying hand/arm/leg in a "battle" could send the plane down.

[johnqsittinzen]

"You ever been in a cockpit before?"

[SoCalGuy 93065]

Obviously not, LOL! Bunch of wanna-be aviation "experts" whose "experience" is no doubt limited to a few hours playing with Flight Simulator.

[SoCalGuy 93065]

Not really - the autopilot is usually flying the plane from just after takeoff until shortly before landing (or maybe even after the landing if the crew is trained for auto-land and the plane is appropriately equipped).

[Rudderman]

"...the co-pilot began talking in a "rambling and disjointed" manner, took another nap..."

Are they sure the co-pilot wasn't Bush? In any case, I'm glad "W" he won't be in charge of America's flight plan for much longer. We've already crashed and burned. And sadly, any flight attendent could have done a far better job.

[gcallaghan]

...and the whole plane was just crawling with deadly snakes.

[thebanana]

Obviously Canadian flight attendants are multi-taskers!

[RobinSeattle]

I sense a Karen Black joke coming on.

[jwatso7]

"There's no one left to fly the plane!"

or

"Climb, baby. Climb!"

or

"The stewardess is flying the plane? You mean the stewardess is flying the plane? The stewardess is flying the plane."

Sorry, but I never knew my love of '70s disaster flicks would come in handy! ;)

[lovethesinner]

Only in Canada.

[terkid]

... exactly. As they say, or sang... blame Canada :]

[moosha]

Wait, this happened in January? Come on, I love an airline disaster story as much as the next person, but with the economy sliding into the Great Depression 2, I think HP can come up with something to report on that's kinda current.

[Canuknotusa]

This story is based on the conclusion of the report into the accident.
In any case, i imagine the story is significant to those passengers on the plane, eh?

[dac253]

Huffington Post still covers Joe the Plumber stories and you're gonna complain about this? HuffPo's coverage of economic issues is outstanding; and if it's not sufficient for you, there are other sources of information. I'd prefer you tell a joke instead of griping about my favorite news organization.