American Airlines pilot dies just before landing in New Mexico
An American Airlines pilot died after falling ill just moments before landing at Albuquerque International Sunport, New Mexico, on Wednesday night.
The captain declared an emergency and the plane, which had flown in from Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport, was met by paramedics.
See also: Pilot dies after mid-flight heart attack
See also: Pilot successfully lands plane after propellor falls off
The team was, however, unable to save William 'Mike' Grubbs, 58, who was a Dallas-based co-pilot.
According to People.com, CPR was performed for up to 40 minutes before Mr Grubbs was pronounced dead.
Speaking to the Albuquerque Journal, an airline spokesperson said: "American Airlines is deeply saddened by the death of first officer William "Mike" Grubbs.
"We're taking care of first officer Grubbs' family and colleagues and our thoughts and prayers are with them during this time."
Mr Grubbs had a wife and a son, who is soon to graduate college. According to wgntv.com, he joined American in 2010 as a pilot of Boeing 737s after flying smaller planes for American Eagle.
Back in December 2016, a KLM pilot was preparing for takeoff when he suffered a heart attack at Glasgow Airport.
The captain became ill as he was preparing to take off for Amsterdam.
The Dutch pilot was resuscitated by the crew with the help of a passenger, and firefighters helped remove him from the plane, before he was transported to Golden Jubilee Hospital in Clydebank, and was left in a stable condition.
Back in 2013, the pilot of a United Airlines flight suffered a mid-air heart attack and later died.
Henry Skillern, 63, from Texas was piloting a flight from Houston to Seattle when he suffered the heart attack.
An off-duty pilot was on board and helped take control of the plane and make an emergency landing in Idaho.
Two medical centre doctors were also passengers on board and performed CPR.
Paramedics boarded the plane as soon as it landed and Skillern was still alive when he was taken to Saint Alphonsus Regional Medical Centre, but died during treatment.
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