In a tragic turn of events, an American Airlines pilot died on a red-eye flight from Phoenix to Boston early Monday morning. The plane carrying 147 passengers and a crew of five was diverted to Syracuse, NY, and landed safely after the co-pilot took over the controls.

The airline hasn’t released any information about the pilot or how he died, and didn’t specify if he passed way on the flight or after the plane had landed, but said in a statement that the focus now is on the crew member’s family.

“We are incredibly saddened by this event, and we are focused on caring for our pilot’s family and colleagues,” the airline said in a statement to Mashable.

The co-pilot radioed in the medical emergency to the Syracuse airport, saying that the captain was “incapacitated,” and requested clearance to land.

The airline sent a replacement crew to Syracuse to staff a plane and get customers to their final destination in Boston this afternoon.

Co-pilot lands plane safely after American Airlines pilot dies on flight [Mashable]

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