A flight in the US was grounded after the captain fell ill and the copilot was left to take over operations until unexpected help arrived.
The case happened days ago on a Southwest Airlines Boeing 737 that was flying from Las Vegas to Columbus but had to return to the airport of origin after the captain experienced severe abdominal pain and passed out during the flight.
Despite the situation, the copilot maintained the aircraft’s operations, communicated with air traffic control about the situation, and brought the Boeing safely to the point of origin.
Now the recording of the conversation between the Southwest plane and the controllers has been made available showing a lot of control over the situation by the copilot giving details of everything that happened.
Also in this recording, a third pilot from another airline who was “hitchhiking” can be seen getting into the cockpit to help and also saying that the plane is being towed to the gate.
When the captain’s situation worsens, the copilot decides to disembark his colleague on the taxiway and coordinates with the emergency teams. Audio can be heard below (wait for loading).