Delta Flight DL437 from Los Angeles to Boston was diverted to Detroit on Tuesday after the captain radioed that he was ill and needed to go to a hospital. The Boeing 757 made an emergency landing at Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport before the trip continued on to Boston.
There were 147 customers on board, and the flight later arrived in Boston about 90 minutes behind schedule. The captain, speaking over the radio, said, “This is the captain. I am the one who is ill. Um, I am going to taxi the jet to the gate and then I need to go to the hospital.”
Matthew “Whiz” Buckley, speaking on CBS News Boston, said the reason the captain was the one talking was straightforward: when one pilot is not flying, that pilot often handles the radio so the other can stay focused on the aircraft. He said that fit normal cockpit practice and that a diversion to the nearest suitable airfield was the right move if a pilot felt incapacitated.
Delta said the captain was taken off the plane once it landed, another crew boarded and the flight resumed to Boston. The airline said, “We apologize to our customers for this disruption in their travels.” The part that remains unanswered is the captain’s condition after the hospital trip. There is no word yet on how he is doing, even as the flight itself was able to finish the journey the same day.
