(CNN) An off-duty pilot on a Southwest Airlines flight intervened to assist the cabin crew after one of the pilots on duty had a mid-flight medical emergency.
Southwest Airlines said the accident began shortly after Flight 6013, bound for Columbus, Ohio, took off from Las Vegas on Wednesday. The airline said one of the pilots “requires medical attention”.
“An approved pilot from another airline, who was on board, entered the flight deck and assisted with radio communications while the Southwest pilot piloted the aircraft,” said airline spokesman Chris Perry. “We greatly appreciate their support and assistance.”
The airline said a nurse on board helped care for the pilot, without disclosing further details about the pilot’s condition.
A flight crew member was heard saying in an air traffic control voice from LiveATC.net.
“It is standard procedure for our flight crews to seek assistance from traveling medical personnel during in-flight medical events involving customers, and this situation just so happened to involve one of our staff,” the airline said.
Data from a flight tracking website FlightAware.com It shows that the plane was in the air for about 1 hour and 17 minutes. After safety returned to Las Vegas, backup crew boarded and the flight to Columbus continued as planned, the airline said.
She added that the Federal Aviation Administration would investigate the incident.
CNN’s Brian Rokus contributed to this report.
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