Passengers aboard an Air Canada flight on Wednesday described how they "instantly started praying" when the plane swerved violently after the pilot reportedly suffered a medical emergency. Flight AC7664, operated by regional partner PAL Airlines, was en route from Newark, New Jersey, to Halifax when it was diverted to Boston Logan Airport.
Rodney McDonald, a passenger traveling with his wife and two sons, told ABC News that the pilot appeared to have had a seizure. "The moment the plane swerved, I knew something was wrong because it was not turbulence," McDonald said. "The flight started swerving violently. It really felt like someone had jilted the controls, and then it happened over and over again. And, you know, every thought goes through your mind, you start praying. My boys instantly started praying."
Passengers assist incapacitated pilot
McDonald described rushing to help the pilot, who had been dragged out of the cockpit by a flight attendant. "(I) realized that the pilot was out of control physically, not violently, like it was clear that he was not in control of his faculties and needed to be restrained," he said. "(We) worked to get him under control, it was a fairly strenuous 40 minutes of keeping him down and using as many seatbelts as we could to restrain his legs, arms and chest." A registered nurse on board helped direct passengers and assist the pilot. McDonald praised the flight attendants: "The flight attendants were stupendous. They stayed calm."
Flight diverted to Boston
According to flight tracking service FlightAware, the aircraft was diverted to Boston at approximately 1:26 p.m., roughly 45 minutes into the journey. Broadcastify audio, obtained by ABC, revealed: "Pilot is incapacitated. Aircraft is being flown by the co-pilot." The flight landed safely just before 2 p.m. Video from ABC affiliate WCVB showed first responders removing the pilot from the aircraft after landing. Authorities said the pilot was transported to hospital for medical treatment. The flight then took off from Boston just after 7:20 p.m. and arrived in Halifax just before 9:30 p.m.
Importance of two-pilot cockpit
The Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA) emphasizes that having two pilots on the flight deck is "crucial" for safety in such events. ALPA cited two separate incidents on November 19, 2022—a significant bird strike on a Delta Airlines flight and a pilot becoming unresponsive on an Envoy Air flight—where "having two pilots on the flight deck was absolutely crucial to the aircraft's safe and successful landing during an emergency." National Post has reached out to Air Canada for comment.
