Co-Pilot Lands Plane After Pilot Becomes 'Incapacitated'

Passengers headed from New Jersey to Canada made an unscheduled stop in Boston on Wednesday after the captain of an Air Canada flight fell ill mid-flight, CBS News reports. Flight 7664, traveling from Newark to Halifax with 61 passengers, diverted to Logan Airport after the captain suffered a medical emergency and was removed from the cockpit, officials said. The first officer landed the plane safely around 2pm, according to state police. The airline said the captain became "incapacitated" about an hour after takeoff, the New York Post reports.

Video showed ambulances driving to the aircraft and a stretcher brought to the cockpit; the pilot was taken to Massachusetts General Hospital, with no update on his condition released. Air Canada said the diversion followed standard safety procedures and noted pilots are trained to operate and land aircraft alone. The airline is arranging alternate travel for passengers.

"The flight started swerving violently. Within a few moments, flight attendants entered the cockpit frantically, and a few moments later he was dragging one of the pilots out of the cockpit," one passenger said, per ABC 7.