By TSC Staff
June 18, 2009

It's a terrifying scenario.  You're on a transatlantic flight from Brussels to Newark.  Over the intercom, flight attendants ask if there's a doctor on board because of a medical situation. 

There are 247 passengers on board, but no one is told about the severity of the medical crisis.

It turns out the 60-year-old pilot is ill.  Around three or four hours into the flight, he dies.

This scenario just unfolded over the Atlantic Ocean on Continental Flight 61. 

Dr. Julien Struyven, 72, a cardiologist and radiologist from Brussels responded to the intercom call for doctors.  He examined the pilot in the cockpit.  "He was not alive," Struyven told the Associated Press.  There was "no chance at all" of saving him, he said. Struyven suspected the pilot had a heart attack and used a defibrillator to try to revive him but it was too late.

Because of the long haul trip, there was a relief pilot on board who landed the plane safely in heavy fog and rain.

As a precaution, emergency crews were dispatched to meet the plane.

Continental Spokeswoman Julie King said: "The crew on this flight included an additional relief pilot who took the place of the deceased pilot.  The flight continued safely with two pilots at the controls. The company has been in touch with his family and we extend our deepest sympathies."

How often does this happen?

According to AirSafe.com, "flight crew members dying or becoming incapacitated in flight are rare events."

In 2007, another Continental pilot died at the controls after becoming ill during a flight from Houston to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. It landed safely with a co-pilot at the controls after being diverted to McAllen-Miller International Airport.

NBC News has compiled "fact file" ofincidents in which pilots died or passed out.

AirSafe.com also notes the story of a January 2008 Air Canada 767 flight from Toronto to London where the captain had to be physically removed from the aircraft due to erratic behavior." 

How safe is Continental Airlines? 

According to AirSafe.com, "this is the third safety related event in the last 12 months for Continental. In December 2008, Continental Flight 1404 crashed in on takeoff in Denver and was destroyed by fire. None of the passengers or crew were seriously injured. In February 2009, Continental Connection Flight 3407 crashed near Buffalo during approach, killing all 49 passengers and crew members, as well as one person on the ground. The last significant safety event for the 777 was a January 2008 crash of British Airways Flight 38 in London. None of the 16 crew members or 136 passengers were killed."