By Jay Blackman and Chantal Da Silva —
NBC News
A pilot from another airline helped land a Southwest Airlines flight Wednesday after its captain became "incapacitated" and required medical attention, forcing the plane to return to Las Vegas, according to the airline and air traffic data.
Southwest Flight 6013 was headed to Columbus, Ohio, when one of its commanders "required medical attention," an airline spokesman said, without giving details of the health problem.
In radio communications posted by the LiveATC website, one person is heard saying that the captain began to feel stomach pain and "passed out or became incapacitated" about five minutes later.
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That person, who was not identified, said the captain "came back" a minute later and was being treated at the back of the plane: "We need to get him to an ambulance immediately."
The Southwest spokesman said
a pilot from another airline, who was on board, entered the
flight deck and assisted with radio communication while the other Southwest pilot flew the plane.
“We greatly appreciate his support and assistance,” he said.
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The plane was able to land safely and an alternate crew took over, taking the flight to Columbus, the spokesman said.
"We commend the crew for their professionalism and thank our customers for their patience and understanding regarding the situation," the spokesman said, without clarifying the pilot's status.