New Delhi: An Air India flight from Bangkok to Mumbai made an emergency landing in Kolkata after a passenger suffered a cardiac attack and the crew spoke to doctors through the ATC channels to treat him till the plane landed, the airline said today.
As the condition of the male passenger continued to deteriorate in the flight AI-331 on Wednesday night, the pilots radioed the Kolkata air traffic control to report the onboard medical emergency.
Some time later, the pilots, Sarabjeet Singh and Pranay Misal, sought permission to make an unscheduled landing at the Kolkata airport and asked the air traffic control to keep medical teams on stand-by.
They also asked the air traffic controllers to arrange for urgent advice from doctors on the ground, Air India officials said.
Acting on the request from the pilots, the Airports Authority of India rushed its doctors to the ATC tower, who interacted with them over the Very High Frequency (VHF) communication line to advise on the emergency treatment to help the passenger till the flight landed, they said.
The flight, carrying 244 passengers, made an emergency landing at Kolkata around 2200 hours and the sick passenger was rushed to a local hospital.
It later left for Mumbai shortly after midnight. “The initiative of our pilots once again highlights the presence of mind and commitment of Air India's flying crew during crisis situations,” a spokesman of the national carrier said.
