New York: In an unusual incident, the pilot of United Airlines December 30 flight from Des Moines to Denver suffered a heart attack while flying the plane at 30,000 feet.
As the pilot suffered an attack, an announcement was made “if there is anyone with the medical training available on board.”
When the first announcement was made, the registered nurse Linda Alweiss with decades of experience was the first to respond.
Linda Alweiss was flying home via Denver with on the same flight with her husband and 16-year-old daughter from a Christmas vacation.
In an recent interview to KTLA television station Linda Alweiss described how she found the pilot slumped over in the cockpit.
She said “He was sick and mumbling and was just incoherent”.
While Alweiss was administering aid to the pilot, another, distinctly more terrifying plea was heard: ‘Does anyone in the cabin have flight experience?'Which was just a mistaken announcement.
Another nurse, Amy Sorenson, of Wyoming, also volunteered to assist Alweiss and the pair, with the help of other passengers, pulled the captain out of the cockpit and into the galley so they had more room to work.
The nurses set up a diagnostic defibrillator and administered an IV.
Finally the co-pilot managed to safely land the plane at an airport in Omaha.
The pilot survived the attack and was being treated in the cardiac unit of an Omaha hospital.
