Pilot Was in 'Perfect Health,' Wife Says

NEWARK, N.J. (June 19) -The Continental Airlines pilot who died on a trans-Atlantic flight from Belgium to the U.S. was in "perfect health" and fellow crew members initially thought he had just fallen asleep, his wife told a Houston television station.

Craig Lenell, 60, who was based in Newark but had a house in Houston, had no known heart condition and underwent twice-a-year physicals, Lynda Lenell told KHOU-TV.

"He was the kindest, gentlest man I've ever known. He would do anything for anyone," Lynda Lenell said. "He called me yesterday from Brussels to tell me he was bringing home some chocolate."

The tragedy comes on the heels of the death of Lynda Lenell's mother. The pilot, a father of six who lived in Houston, had been returning home in to attend his mother-in-law's funeral, CNN reported.

Lenell died of a suspected heart attack midway through Continental Airlines Flight 61 on Thursday. Two co-pilots took over the controls. Passengers didn't know anything was wrong until they landed and were met by fire trucks, emergency vehicles and dozens of clamoring reporters.

"I was shocked," said passenger Dora Dekeyser. "Nobody knew anything."

The crew of the Boeing 777 made an announcement over the loudspeaker asking if there was a doctor on board, but Martha Love, who was sitting in the first row of the plane, didn't suspect anything was amiss.

The flight attendants continued to serve snacks. Passengers read magazines and watched movies. And the flight stayed on schedule.

"No one knew," said Love, who only became concerned after the plane landed and she saw emergency vehicles lined up along the runway.

Dr. Julien Struyven, 72, a cardiologist and radiologist from Brussels, examined the pilot in the cockpit and tried to revive him using a defibrillator. But it was too late. Struyven said there was "no chance at all" of saving him.

Simon Shapiro, a passenger from Brooklyn, New York, was also unaware. "I didn't hear anything or see anything," he said. "I was wondering why there were so many cops."
Passenger Kathleen Ledger, 45, of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, said she learned about what happened when her cell phone rang after landing.

"My husband called me and told me," she said.
She was impressed with the way the flight crew handled themselves and did not think passengers needed to be informed of the death during the flight.

"They did an incredible job," she said. "I would have done the exact same thing."
The dead pilot was based in Newark and had worked for Continental for 32 years, the airline said.

Lynda Lenell could not be reached for comment by The Associated Press. Houston-area phone numbers listed in the names of Craig and Lynda Lenell were not answered Friday morning.

She told KHOU-TV her husband was an Air Force pilot who served in Vietnam. The couple married in 1973 and had six children and several grandchildren.
"Flying was his life," she said. "He died doing what made him happiest."

Tom Donaldson, a former leader of the Continental pilots' union who currently flies Boeing 767 jets for the airline, said pilots must pass an extensive physical every six months to remain qualified to fly. The exam includes an electrocardiogram, blood pressure check and a vision test.

For long routes such as trans-Atlantic flights, a third pilot is aboard to permit the captain or first officer to take rest breaks.

Donaldson said there is no specific training on how to react if a crew member becomes incapacitated, but any one of the three pilots is fully qualified to operate the jet.

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Trans-Atlantic Passenger Jet Lands Safely After Pilot Dies

(CNN) -- The pilot of Continental Flight 61 died Thursday as the plane flew from Brussels, Belgium, to Newark, New Jersey, the Federal Aviation Administration and Continental Airlines said.

The 60-year-old Newark-based pilot died of "apparently of natural causes" about halfway through the flight, the airline said. He had 32 years of service with Continental, it said

The airline said the crew on the flight included an additional relief pilot who took the place of the deceased man, and "the flight continued safely with two pilots at the controls." The Boeing 777 landed safely at Newark International Airport at 11:49 a.m. ET Thursday, the airline said.

No further details were given, and the pilot's name was not released because of a request from the family, Continental said.

Asked whether the plane's 247 passengers had been told of the situation, a Continental spokesman said only that the plane had arrived safely.

Passengers told CNN that they were not informed, and that the only indication of a problem was that an announcement for a doctor was made during the flight.

"I haven't heard anything." passenger Chris Balchuas, from Houston, Texas, told reporters after the flight. "They just said there was a medical emergency and were there any doctors aboard."

Another passenger, Dr. Julien Struyzen, said he responded to the request for a doctor and pronounced the pilot dead.

"He was clinically dead when I came in," Struyzen said. Flight personnel asked him if anything was possible, and he said "it was not."

He did not give additional details.

Struyzen said all flight personnel were "very professional."

Balchuas, after being told what had happened, said, "Oh, that's scary. I didn't know anything about that."

He said nothing was unusual about the flight, just that about "four or five fire trucks and a whole bunch of medical emergency teams" met the plane when it landed.

Steve Coleman, a spokesman for the New York and New Jersey Port Authority, said the FAA told Newark airport officials to have emergency crews standing by for the landing.

The plane landed without any problem, he said, and a medical examiner met the plane to help handle the situation.