Two Army doctors from Joint Base Lewis-McChord's Madigan Army Medical Center were onboard United Flight 1603 from Houston to Seattle when the pilot suffered a heart attack Thursday night. The doctors performed CPR on the pilot as the plane made an emergency landing in Boise, Idaho.
Jay Ebbeson, a spokesman for the hospital at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, told The Associated Press about the two Army doctors:
Ebberson says the two are captains and radiology residents who were returning to the base near Tacoma, Wash., from a medical course at Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio. They were unavailable Friday to talk about the incident, he said.
The pilot, 63-year-old Henry Skillern, was still alive when he arrived at the hospital, but passed away early Friday morning.
The 161 passengers and six crew members remained in Boise for several hours while United officials worked to find another pilot. Officials eventually found a replacement captain and passengers arrived in Seattle just after midnight.
