text: American Airlines flight diverts after captain becomes ill, dies 
   
   An American Airlines captain died after falling ill while flying an early morning route from Phoenix to Boston. The incident occurred about four hours into Flight 550, when the co-pilot took over and diverted to land in Syracuse. 12NEWS.COM - Ariz. 
   
   This Aug. 13, 2013, file photo shows the tails of American Airlines and US Airways aircraft at Washington's Reagan National Airport. (Photo: Susan Walsh, AP) 
   
   An American Airlines pilot died after becoming ill on an overnight "red eye" flight from Phoenix to Boston, American Airlines confirmed to Today in the Sky. 
   
   The incident occurred about four hours into Flight 550, which then diverted to Syracuse and landed there around 7:10 a.m. Monday morning, according to flight-tracking service FlightAware. 
   
   In a recording of a conversation with air traffic control, Flight 550's first officer can be heard calling in the emergency while saying the captain had become "incapacitated." 
   
   "Syracuse, American 550, medical emergency, captain is incapacitated, request handling for runway," the co-pilot said, according to an audio recording of the conversation posted on the website savvystews.com. 
   
   American Airlines spokesman Ross Feinstein confirmed to Today in the Sky the captain died, though the immediate cause of the pilot's death could not be confirmed. 
   
   "We are incredibly saddened by this event, and we are focused on caring for our pilot's family and colleagues," Feinstein said. 
   
   While the death of a pilot during a flight could raise concern among uneasy fliers, the captain and first officer are each capable of flying commercial airliners alone. The Federal Aviation Administration requires two crew members in the cockpit at all times for just such an emergency. 
   
   “Pilots train for the incapacitation of another crew member,” said John Cox, a former airline pilot and now a consultant as head of Safety Operating Systems, “This would have been something the first officer was trained to deal with.” 
   
   Airline pilots get two physicals per year after 40 years old, as required by the FAA and are typically healthy people, Cox said. FAA also has a mandatory retirement age of 65. 
   
   “This is a tragedy and I’m very sorry for his family,” Cox said. “But as far as were the passengers at risk? No.” 
   
   Flight 550 was on an Airbus A320 and had 147 passengers and five crewmembers, according to American. The flight spent about four hours on the ground in Syracuse and then continued on to Boston after a replacement crew arrived to the aircraft in Syracuse. 
   
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   Read or Share this story: http://usat.ly/1Led2m0 ||||| An American Airlines pilot died mid-flight after experiencing a medical emergency Monday morning, airline officials said. 
   
   The pilot, Capt. Michael Johnston, 57, was flying from Phoenix to Boston when the plane was forced to land in Syracuse, New York. 
   
   "Capt. Johnston was piloting Flight #550 from Phoenix to Boston early Monday morning when he fell ill," American Airlines said in a statement. "All of us at American extend our condolences to Mike’s wife, Betty Jean, and to his entire family." 
   
   There were 147 passengers on board with five crew members, including the pilot. An airline spokesperson confirmed the incident to ABC News and said it is "incredibly saddened" and is focusing on taking care of the family members and crew involved. 
   
   Recordings of the crew's communications with air traffic control, obtained via liveatc.net, show that someone on the plane called in saying that the "captain is incapacitated" and at another point, saying "pilot is unresponsive, not breathing." 
   
   The nature of the pilot's sudden illness has not been disclosed. 
   
   An airline spokesperson said that one of the flight attendants is also a nurse and had tried to assist the ill pilot. 
   
   Airlines in the United States are required to have two pilots on board, and that was true in this case as well. 
   
   Editor's note: An earlier version of this story mistakenly stated that the flight was heading from Boston to Phoenix. It was heading from Phoenix to Boston. ||||| Play Facebook 
   
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   An American Airlines pilot died during a red-eye flight from Phoenix to Boston early Monday, the airline said. 
   
   "Unfortunately our pilot passed away. We are incredibly saddened by this event and we are focused on caring for our pilot's family and colleagues," an airline spokesperson said. 
   
   The flight, which carried 147 passengers and five crew members, was diverted to Syracuse, New York. The airline said the co-pilot landed the jet safely at 7 a.m. ET Monday. 
   
   "We landed and had no idea what was going on," said passenger Louise Anderson. "Airport security was waiting for us. They let us know that they were going to get another crew to fly us to Boston." 
   
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   It wasn't until the second flight with a new crew that passengers were told the pilot had passed away, so "there was no time to panic when we were on the flight," Anderson said. She added that American Airlines "handled the situation really professionally." 
   
   the pilot died on our redeye back to Boston (leading to 4h in Syracuse). life is short. do what you love before it's too late. — lulusaurus-rex (@lulakilla) October 5, 2015 
   
   Anderson, who was flying home to Boston after competing in a race in California over the weekend, said she slept during most of the trip but remembers the pilot's voice filling the cabin at the start of the flight. "As he was announcing the weather for Boston he said it was going to be 79 or 80 degrees," she said. "He had to correct himself." 
   
   The pilot's name and age were not released. The airline did not specify a cause of death.
target: – Authorities say an American Airlines flight from Phoenix to Boston has been diverted to Syracuse, New York, after the captain became ill and later died. Airline Spokeswoman Andrea Huguely says Flight 550 was diverted shortly after 7am Monday and the first officer safely landed the plane. She confirmed that the flight's captain had died. Details of the medical emergency and the identity of the deceased pilot weren't immediately released. Before the flight landed at Syracuse, the first officer called air traffic control and said "American 550. Medical emergency. Captain is incapacitated." He requested a runway to land and said there were 154 passengers on board. The plane later completed its leg to Boston. USA Today reports that the incident occurred about four hours into a "red eye" overnight flight. Though the AP reports it wasn't immediately clear when the pilot died, outlets including CNN and ABC News cite airline officials who say he died mid-flight. ABC notes that after calling the tower to report the captain was incapacitated, the first officer also said, "pilot is unresponsive, not breathing." "We landed and had no idea what was going on," one passenger tells NBC News. After boarding the plane that would take them to Boston with a new crew, the passengers were told the pilot had died, so "there was no time to panic when we were on the flight," she says.