I think really the technology is there today to go down to 2 pilots for international ops. It might cost a lot in satcom but if you can have an open mike with dispatch and gang you could probably pull it off just fine. It'll be far more feasible when ATC is datalinking you stuff rather than using VHF radio. Which either way, that will make talking to french female controllers a lot easier when you can understand them.
As to if a pilot dies enroute, probably not much different than the case out of IAH where a CAL Captain died and the FO landed the plane.
Plane Diverted To Valley After Pilot Has Heart Attack
KGBT4 (CBS affiliate for the Texas Rio Grande Valley) ^ | Jan 20, 2007 11:16 PM | Staff
Posted on Monday, January 22, 2007 12:06:16 AM by Paleo Conservative
Steve Sweeney, his wife and a group of friends left Philadelphia early Saturday morning.
They flew to Houston and then boarded their connecting flight en route to Puerto Vallarta.
But while in the air, heading into Mexico, Sweeney said the passengers were issued an alert.
"The co-pilot came over on the loud speaker saying if there was a doctor on board and after about 10-15 minutes they asked if there was a pilot on board," Sweeney said. - Personally, I'd never ask that, just land the plane, chances are you'll be doing more explaining then you need to when Private Pilot Joe comes up. Maybe ask if there is a Continental pilot on board and maybe another Part 121 pilot on board will get a clue and ask if he can help? -
Immediately, he knew something was wrong.
"It was scary, my wife got nervous, she was thinking that my daughters wedding is in June and she was like, we're not gonna make it, we're not gonna make the wedding," he recalled.
Dave Davenport from South Carolina added: "It was the first time something like this has ever happened on a flight with (me and my wife)"
Action 4 News contacted Continential Airlines' headquarters.
In a verbal statement they told us a pilot of Flight 1838, "experienced a serious medical problem which required the aircraft to land immediately."
The airplane was diverted to the McAllen-Miller International Airport.
An ambulance arrived and transported the pilot to the McAllen Medical Center but according to Continental officials, the captain died.
The airline assures a Continental co-pilot landed the plane around 1:30 p.m.
But Sweeney has another story.
"They asked for a pilot out of the passengers and one guy who flies small planes went out and helped them," he remembered.
In the end, the plane landed safely and all 210 passengers waited approximately four hours for another crew to arrive and finally fly them to Puerto Vallarta.
The wait, however, wasn't so bad according to some passengers. Continental fed them pizza and soft drinks while they waited.
Davenport says the crew did a great job keeping everyone calm.
"They kept their cool, they knew exactly what they were doing so it kinda settled everyone down after a while."