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http://ultimosegundo.ig.com.br/mundo/2009/...to+6800940.htmlVoo da Continental Airlines declara emergência após morte do piloto
18/06/2009 - 12:28 , atualizada às 12:44 18/06 - Redação com agências internacionais
NOVA YORK - O voo 61 da Continental Airlines, que faz a rota entre Bruxelas, na Bélgica e Newark, em Nova Jersey, declarou emergência nesta quinta-feira após a morte do piloto enquanto o avião sobrevoava o Oceano Atlântico.
Segundo a porta-voz da Agência Federal de Aviação dos EUA (FAA), Arlene Salac, a aeronave, um Boeing 777, irá fazer um pouso de emergência no Aeroporto Internacional de Newark, a poucos quilômetros de Nova York.
O avião está sendo comandando pelo co-piloto e terá prioridade de emergência na hora do pouso em Newark, informou a porta-voz da FAA.
As causas da morte do piloto durante o vôo ainda não foram divulgadas.
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The New York Times:
http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/06/...-dead-pilot/?hpJune 18, 2009, 11:04 AM
Jet Heading to Newark With Dead Pilot
By AL BAKER AND SEWELL CHAN
Updated, 11:39 a.m. | The pilot of a Continental Airlines jetliner died midflight on Thursday morning as the plane, carrying 247 passengers, was en route from Brussels to Newark, the authorities said.
Two first officers were operating the plane, a Boeing 777. The flight, Flight 61, was expected to land at Newark Liberty International Airport at or shortly before noon.
Two first officers are “on board the aircraft” and piloting it, “which they are perfectly qualified to do,” said Arlene Salac, a spokeswoman for the Federal Aviation Administration at John F. Kennedy International Airport.
Julie King, a spokeswoman for Continental, said the captain “died in flight, apparently of natural causes.” The dead pilot was 61 years old, had 21 years of service with Continental and was based in Newark, she said.
“The crew on this flight included an additional relief pilot who took the place of the deceased pilot,” she said. “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.”
The flight took off at 9:54 a.m. in Brussels (3:54 a.m. Eastern time), according to Continental’s Web site, which said the flight is to land at 12 noon at Gate C123. (Follow the flight’s progress at FlightAware.)
As of 11 a.m., the plane was in the skies over Canada, having followed its route south over Newfoundland.
Federal authorities received notification of the emergency at 10:30 a.m. Information was reported to federal aviation officials from the air-traffic system on the ground, which was communicating directly with the cockpit, Ms. Salac said. “They did declare an emergency,” she said. “They will receive priority handling.”
Continental representatives were not immediately available for comment.
Steve Coleman, a spokesman for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which operates the region’s three airports, said the plane, due in “about noon,” was not expected to have trouble landing.
In fact, he said, the emergency crews at the Newark have not been placed on any kind of heightened alert or put in a preparatory mode, he said.
“It is our understating, from the F.A.A., that the plane has plenty of experienced pilots on board and that is not an issue for us,” Mr. Coleman said. The New Jersey Department of Health has been notified to “stand by,” he said.
There have been previous instances of pilots dying during flights.
In April 2009, a passenger landed a privately operated twin-engine plane at Southwest Florida International Airport, in Fort Myers, and saved four lives, after the pilot died after takeoff. The passenger, Doug White, whose family was on the plane, only had experience flying single-engine planes, but with the help of traffic controllers, he landed the plane safely.
In January 2007, a pilot of a Continental 757 bound from Houston to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, died after takeoff, with 210 passengers were on board. The flight landed safely after being diverted to McAllen-Miller International Airport in Texas.
Liz Robbins contributed reporting.
Editado por Julio, 18 de junho de 2009 - 12:47 .
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