Air Canada emergency diversion after captain becomes incapacitated mid-flight

A serious incident recently took place when an Air Canada flight from Newark, New Jersey was compelled to change direction and land at Boston’s Logan Airport after the captain became “incapacitated” mid-flight, forcing the co-pilot to take over.

Air Canada Flight 7664 was flying to Halifax with 61 customers on board. The airline released a statement stating, “During the flight, the captain experienced a medical issue and was removed from the flight deck as per safety protocols.”

“The first officer took control of the aircraft and diverted the flight to Boston, where it landed safely. Pilots are trained to fly aircraft and land safely without the assistance of a second pilot.”

Massachusetts Police Logan Airport officials received an alert just before 1:40 p.m. that the plane would be redirected to Boston.

Given the severity of the situation, ambulances drove onto the runway, and a stretcher was brought to the cockpit. The pilot could be seen being taken from the plane to a nearby ambulance within minutes of the flight landing.

Aviation expert, Patrick Smith shed light on the current scenario, stating, “A lot of people have this idea that a co-pilot is kind of an apprentice or there to lend a helping hand. That's not really how it works. Both pilots are fully qualified and can operate the airplane. To do so with one of the two pilots incapacitated would have increased the workload for another pilot.”

“Today in Boston the weather was nice so that would have made things a little easier. A higher workload, a little more demanding, a little more challenging, but nothing either pilot couldn't have handled, Smith further added.