An Air Canada flight out of Newark, New Jersey, was forced to divert and land at Boston’s Logan Airport after the captain became “incapacitated” and a co-pilot had to take over.
Air Canada Flight 7664 was flying to Halifax, Canada with 61 customers on board.
“During the flight, the captain experienced a medical issue and was removed from the flight deck as per safety protocols,” the airline said in a statement. “The first officer took control of the aircraft and diverted the flight to Boston, where it landed safely. Pilots are trained to fly aircraft and land safely without the assistance of a second pilot.”
Air Canada is working to provide travel arrangements for all of the customers on the diverted flight.
According to FlightAware, the plane departed Newark Liberty International Airport at 12:39 p.m. on Wednesday.
Massachusetts State Police said Logan Airport officials received an alert just before 1:40 p.m. that the plane would be diverting to Boston.
“A crew member was reported to having a medical emergency and aircraft was being flown by the co-pilot,” Massachusetts State Police said in a statement, adding that the captain had become “incapacitated.”
The plane landed around 2 p.m.
Ambulances drove onto the runway and a stretcher was brought to the cockpit. The pilot could be seen being brought from the airplane to a nearby ambulance within minutes of the flight touching down.
Boston EMS said the pilot was brought to Mass General Hospital.
No additional information on the pilot’s condition has been released.
Once the captain was removed from the plane, the aircraft was towed to the gate and passengers were able to get off.
No further details are currently available.