Plane Makes Emergency Landing in Syracuse, Pilot Dies

UPDATE: 10/05/2015 7:55pm The pilot has been identified as Captain Michael Johnson of Utah.  The airline confirmed that he suffered a heart attack in flight.

UPDATE: 10/05/2015 1:38pm American Airlines has confirmed that the pilot, whose name has not been officially released pending notification of family, passed away.

American Airlines has issued the following statement:

"American Airlines Flight 550, an Airbus A320, diverted to Syracuse Hancock International Airport (SYR) early this morning due to pilot illness. Unfortunately, our pilot passed away. We are incredibly saddened by this event, and we are focused on caring for our pilot’s family and colleagues.   We are also taking care of our customers and sent a replacement crew to SYR to get them to Boston.  The flight originally left Phoenix at 11:55pm local time and landed in SYR at 7:13am local time. There were 147 passengers and a crew of five.”

Officials are not releasing details regarding the pilot's illness or identity at this time.

UPDATE: 10/05/2015 1:18pm American Airlines has not yet confirmed multiple reports that a pilot on board American Airlines Flight 550 has died.  Officials will only confirm that a medical emergency forced this morning's emergency landing in Syracuse, New York.

The airline has not yet returned WIBX's call for an official update or confirmation.

Original Story:

An American Airlines flight that had set off from Phoenix, Arizona that was bound for Boston made an emergency landing at Syracuse's Hancock International Airport this morning.

Multiple sources are indicating that there was a medical emergency involving one of the pilots.

No other information is available at this time.

This is a developing story and we will provide more information as soon as it is available.

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