時事新聞:機長飛行途中死亡 替補飛行員安全降落

Backups Land Jet Safely After Pilot Dies

A first officer and relief pilot safely landed a Continental Airlines Inc. jetliner Thursday at New Jersey's Newark Liberty International Airport, hours after the pilot of the Boeing 777 died midflight en route from Brussels.

The 60-year-old pilot, a 32-year Continental veteran based in Newark, is believed to have died of natural causes, the airline said. The flight, which had departed at 9:54 a.m. local time in Belgium, carried 247 passengers, 12 flight attendants and the three aviators.

People familiar with the flight's trajectory said the captain fell ill and a relief pilot took the controls as the aircraft was over the North Atlantic and approaching the coast of Canada.

To ensure flight safety in the event a pilot becomes incapacitated, Federal Aviation Administration rules require any flight longer than eight hours to carry a relief pilot in addition to the aircraft's captain and first officer, who also is trained to command the cockpit. Flights exceeding 12 hours are required to carry two relief pilots.

Continental declined to disclose the identity of the pilot or whether he had had any previous health problems. Under FAA rules, airline captains over the age of 40 must pass medical examinations once every six Months and younger captains once a year.

Julien Struyven, a cardiologist from Brussels who was aboard the flight, said the pilot was already dead by the time he reported to the cockpit in response to a crew request for medical help. 'We were going to try to revive him, but it was already too late,' Dr. Struyven said shortly after landing. The stricken pilot, he added, didn't respond to jolts from a defibrillator.

Because events were confined to the cockpit, other passengers had no idea anything serious had happened until the aircraft touched down in New Jersey at 11:49 a.m., 11 minutes ahead of schedule. Despite the crew's call for a doctor, several passengers said, there were no other unusual signs until the plane was met by firetrucks and other emergency vehicles when it landed.

'We thought there was some sort of emergency drill happening,' said Laura McDermott, a New Jersey resident traveling with her husband and two children.

Some passengers said they were relieved the crew didn't mention the pilot's death while in the air. 'It was probably better that way,' said Susan Morgan, a passenger from Houston. 'People would have panicked if they had told us.'

Paulo Prada / Chris Herring

週四，從布魯塞爾出發的一架大陸航空公司(Continental Airlines Inc.)波音777客機機長在飛行途中死亡，副機長和換班飛行員駕駛這架飛機降落在新澤西州紐瓦克自由國際機場。

大陸航空公司稱，身故機長現年60歲，在大陸航空公司任職32年，據信爲自然死亡。這架飛機於比利時當地時間上午9點54分起飛，機上載有247名乘客，12名空服人員和上述三位飛行員。

瞭解這班飛機航程的人士說，在飛機飛越北大西洋，接近加拿大海岸線時，機長感覺不適，由換班飛行員負責操縱。

爲了在飛行員無法繼續駕駛的情況下確保飛行安全，美國航空管理局(Federal Aviation Administration)規定，任何飛行時間在8小時以上的航班除正副機長外還應有一名換班飛行員，換班飛行員也受過訓練，能駕駛飛機。飛行時間超過12小時的航班要有兩名換班飛行員。

大陸航空拒絕透露死亡飛行員的身份，或是他此前是否有健康問題。按照美國航空管理局的規定，年齡在40歲以上的機長必須每半年體檢一次，不到40歲的機長每年體檢一次。

來自布魯塞爾的心臟病專家斯圖文(Julien Struyven)當時在航班上。他說，他響應機組人員請求前往駕駛艙進行醫療協助時，機長已經死亡。斯圖文在飛機着陸後不久說，我們試圖救醒他，但已經太遲了。他補充說，出事的飛行員對心律去顫器的電擊沒有反應。

由於駕駛艙封閉，其他乘客絲毫不知道發生了嚴重事故，直到飛機於當地時間上午11點49分降落在紐瓦克機場，比原定時間早了11分鐘。有幾名乘客說，雖然機組成員曾呼叫醫生，但沒有其他的反常跡象，直到飛機降落後被消防車和其他急救車輛包圍。

跟丈夫和兩個孩子一起旅行的新澤西居民麥克德莫特(Laura McDermott)說，我們還以爲是緊急情況演習。

一些乘客表示，機組人員在飛行過程中沒有提及飛行員的死讓他們鬆了口氣。來自休斯頓的乘客摩根(Susan Morgan)說，這樣可能更好，如果他們告訴我們發生了什麼事，人們可能會恐慌。

trajectory n. 軌道,彈道,軌線

The missile deflected from its trajectory.
導彈已偏離軌道.

incapacitate v. 使不能,使不適於 vt. 使不能

A device or substance, such as tear gas, used to incapacitate individuals temporarily, as in riot control.
致殘劑一種可使人暫時致殘的裝置或物質，如平定暴亂時所用的催淚瓦斯

cockpit n. (飛行員等的)座艙,(賽車)駕駛座

Seated in the cockpit, the pilot of a plane has a lot of controls at his fingertips.
在飛機駕駛艙中，駕駛員一伸手就可觸及許多操縱裝置。

cardiologist n. 心臟病學家

defibrillator n. 電震發生器

panic n. 恐慌,驚惶 adj. 驚慌的,沒有理由的,恐慌的 v. 使...驚慌

The crowd panicked at the sound of the explosion.
爆炸聲一響，人羣便驚慌起來。

decline to 拒絕

He declined to answer this question. 他拒絕回答這個問題。

in response to adj. 回答(響應)

In response to your inquiry...
茲答覆您的詢問...
In response to their hospitality, we wrote a thank-you note.
爲回報他們的熱情, 我們寫了一封感謝信。