A Continental Airlines flight 61 landed at Newark International Airport this afternoon after its Captain Craig Lenell died this morning on June 18, 2009 while on board.
The 60-year-old Newark-based pilot, who worked for Continental for 32 years, is believed to have died of natural causes, said Kelly Cripe, a spokeswoman for the Houston-based airline.
A co-pilot and a relief pilot aboard safely landed the Boeing 777 aircraft at Newark, which was scheduled to be the plane's final destination, just before noon.
Carrying 247 passengers, Flight 61 departed from Brussels, Belgium at 9:45 this morning.
Passengers say that they were not informed about the pilot's death. "We were just told there was a major medical issue aboard the flight," said one passenger. "I wasn't scared at all. No fear, no panic, everybody was fine."
"No, we were not aware of that," said another. "They called the doctor in the middle of the flight. That was it. We sat in first class so we did see the doctor go to the front, but that's all we saw."
According to Continental, the 60-year-old pilot died of natural causes. He was based out of Newark and had 32 years of service with the airline.
A cardiologist on board who responded to an announcement asking for doctors said he believes a heart attack killed the pilot. He said he and the crew tried to revive the pilot using a defibrillator, but there was "no chance at all" of saving him."
"When I came in, it was just too late," said Dr. Julien Struyven, a doctor on board that tended to the pilot. "We did try to defibrillate him, but it was no use anymore."
The airport gave priority landing to the flight, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.
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