An American Airlines pilot was incapacitated and was pronounced dead shortly after takeoff on Saturday, according to reports.
Captain Patrick Ford reportedly collapsed at the controls of his American Eagle Embraer 175 just seconds after the 76-seat jet had left the runway at Chicago O’Hare International Airport, one of the world’s busiest airports.
An audio recording of messages to air traffic controllers shows that Ford’s voice abruptly stopped while communicating with control.
“Can I help you?” the controller asked.
“We need to return, captain is incapacitated,” Ford’s co-pilot responded.
Envoy Air, a regional carrier owned by American Airlines, released a statement following the incident.
“Despite heroic efforts to revive him, Captain in training, Patrick Ford, passed away,” said Ric Wilson, the Vice President of Flight Operations at Envoy Air. “We are deeply saddened by this loss.”
“Sincere thanks to Line Check Airman, Captain Brandon Hendrickson, for his leadership and professionalism in the safe handling of his aircraft, passengers, and crew,” Wilson continued.
Following Ford’s death, American pilots are lauding Hendrickson’s heroism and handling of the incident.
“Dude had to keep cool to get this plane on the ground safely and luckily kept a much larger disaster from occurring in the very busy airspace and land beneath Chicago Intl.,” one pilot said
“His handling of the situation was superb,” another one said.
Envoy declined to disclose Ford’s cause of death or if he had received the COVID-19 vaccine given the shot’s possible cardiac side effects.
“American and Envoy have not publicly disclosed the near-disaster. A spokesperson for Envoy did not respond to specific questions about what had happened, acknowledging only that a ‘crew member’ had become ill ‘shortly after departure’ and “passed away at the hospital,” Alex Berenson reported.
“Among pilots who resisted mRNA Covid vaccines – a small but vocal minority – Ford’s death has also thrown into question possible cardiac side effects from the shots. American and Envoy declined to disclose if Ford had been vaccinated or boosted. But most pilots are vaccinated, following heavy government and airline pressure in the summer and fall of 2021,” his report continued.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said it is investigating, and a spokesperson said that such incidents are rare.
