An off-duty captain stepped in to help land a plane after the co-pilot was struck down with a migraine.
The Lufthansa 747 was diverted to Dublin airport after the co-pilot fell ill yesterday on a flight from Newark to Frankfurt.
But luckily the crew found a North American Airlines captain amongst the passengers who was called on to help land the plane carrying 264 passengers.
Lufthansa confirmed that the plane diverted to Dublin safely where the co-pilot was hospitalised before the flight continued after a six hour delay to allow for a replacement crew to be flown in.
Lufthansa spokesman said: "A licensed Boeing 767 captain from North American carrier, who was travelling on Lufthansa flight 403 as a passenger, assisted the Lufthansa captain. This is a viable procedure in such a very rare situation."
Lufthansa added that the flight captain would have been safe, according to procedures, to land the plane on his own or in some circumstances the crew are also trained to assist by reading out check lists.
