This is your flight attendant speaking, I'm about to land your plane: Hostess steps in as pilot falls ill

By Mail Foreign Service
Last updated at 8:48 AM on 18th June 2010

Second in charge: Patti DeLuna helped land an American Airlines plane after a co-pilot fell ill

A flight attendant stepped in to help land a passenger plane after a pilot became ill.

Patti DeLuna has her pilot's licence but last flew more than 20 years ago - and even then it was a light aircraft.

But she voluteered without a second thought after the first officer of an American Airlines flight to Chicago developed flu-like symptoms.

When Captain Jim Hunter deemed his co-pilot to ill to fly, and realised no off-duty pilots were on board, he called on Mrs DeLuna to help land the Boeing 767.

She kept her cool and the plane, carrying 225 passengers and seven crew members, landed safely at O'Hare International Airport at 4.24pm on Monday.

Despite the feat, Mrs DeLuna said she 'didn't feel like a hero.'

'This was not heroic by any means. I was just trying to be part of a team,' the 61-year-old said.

'I was the best available (back-up pilot) they had on the plane,' DeLuna told the Chicago Tribune. 'I spent a lot of time in the cockpit looking at the flight deck panel and asking questions. My first question to the captain was, "Where are the brakes?"

Asked about the moment she was chosen, Mrs DeLuna said: 'That doesn’t mean I’m a hot shot pilot, it only means I was the best they had — I was the best candidate for the job at the time.

'I felt terrible for the first officer,' she went on. 'But I was so excited. It was way more fun than serving meals from the galley.'

Happy ending: American Airlines said the incident was handled well by staff (file photo)

Success story: The American Airlines flight was landed without incident at O'Hare International Airport, pictured, thanks to Mrs DeLuna's help

'I was thinking about survival. I was thinking about getting it down the best I could. I don’t feel like a hero. When you work on an airplane, you work as a team. You do whatever you can do to help.'

The flight attendant, from California, received a commercial pilot's license in 1970 and has logged about 300 flight hours on a Cessna, according to American Airlines spokeswoman Andrea Huguely.

She said Captain Hunter was 'exemplary' and 'so collected and so together.'

'He did everything by himself pretty much,' she said. 'I watched for traffic and listened for information from air traffic control just as a backup for him.'

An American Airlines man said the ill pilot was treated at a local hospital and released. His condition was not serious.

'The entire incident was handled very well on all accounts,' said American Airlines spokesman Tim Wagner.

Mrs DeLuna said she was thrilled to be back in the cockpit.

'The view is much better,' she said.

'It's exciting and it's fun and this was a real opportunity for me.'

No announcement was made to the passengers about the change of pilots, DeLuna said. The plane landed normally.

One pilot is fully capable of flying a 767. The plane is equipped with an array of computers which means it can fly and even land by itself.

Source from Dailymail