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A passenger aboard the Halifax-bound airliner that was diverted to Boston on Wednesday after its captain suffered a medical emergency said he immediately knew something was wrong when the plane suddenly began swerving.
Rodney MacDonald told CBC’s As It Happens on Thursday that he and his family were on Air Canada Flight 7664 from Newark, N.J., in transit to a vacation in Italy.
He said about 25 minutes into the flight, the plane “veered suddenly to the left and then after about 20 seconds, veered to the right, almost as if you were in a car and someone jolted the steering wheel.”
MacDonald, who was sitting near the front of the plane at the time, said he began praying when it swerved a couple more times. He said a flight attendant headed toward the cockpit and soon motioned for another to join in.
“Probably two or three minutes elapsed and then all of a sudden the cockpit door flew open, bounced on the wall and the second flight attendant who had gone in was pulling the captain out by his armpits and onto the floor,” MacDonald said.
“And at that moment, the captain was right at my feet and his face was grey-green and he wasn’t really responding and I thought he looked dead.”
Captain ‘kicking and flailing,’ passenger says
MacDonald said he then moved back to where his wife and kids were sitting to get out of the way.
He said the captain appeared to have a “post-seizure reaction where he was kicking and flailing and hollering at the top of his lungs and kicking at the windows, the seats, his arms were flailing and he was very strong.”
At that point, MacDonald said, his wife told him to go back up and help.
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Rodney MacDonald was flying to Nova Scotia with his family on Wednesday when the plane’s pilot suffered a medical emergency. He said he knew something was wrong when the plane began swerving suddenly.
“I was worried about someone getting clocked in the face so me and a couple of other larger guys tried to subdue him,” he said.
“The two flight attendants and the four of us were physically trying to overcome someone who was probably having full-on adrenalin strength at that moment.”
MacDonald said they required all of their strength to restrain the captain until the plane landed.
First officer takes over
“Even after having strapped his ankles, wrists, waist and shoulders with multiple seatbelts, we had to fully use our force to not let him move,” he said.
While all this was happening, the first officer took control of the aircraft, a De Havilland Q400, and safely landed at Boston Logan International Airport, Air Canada said in an email to CBC News.
The Massachusetts State Police said the flight was diverted at 1:40 p.m. local time after a crew member reported the medical emergency.
‘That could have ended much worse’
The airline said the captain was taken for medical treatment in Boston.
Air Canada said Thursday it had no additional information to share about the pilot.
Air Canada said the flight, which was operated by its regional partner PAL Airlines, carried 61 passengers and work was underway to help them make new travel arrangements “to complete their journeys as soon as possible.”
MacDonald, who is originally from Nova Scotia but now lives in Florida, said he was relieved when the aircraft touched down in Boston.
“I definitely felt protected, like there was a hand taking care of us because that could have ended much worse,” he said.
MacDonald said the incident won’t derail his family’s trip to Italy.
“We’re leaving tomorrow,” he said.
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