American Airlines pilot dies after medical episode before landing

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. -- An American Airlines co-pilot died after having a medical episode just before landing in Albuquerque.

The Albuquerque Journal reports that the captain declared a medical emergency on Flight 1353 a couple of minutes before landing at Albuquerque International Sunport Wednesday evening.

A spokesman for the airline tells the newspaper the captain landed the flight from Dallas-Fort Worth without incident. The plane taxied normally to a gate and was met by paramedics.

American Airlines First Officer William “Mike” Grubbs was pronounced dead after CPR was performed, reports CBS Albuquerque affiliate KRQE-TV.

In 2015, an American Airlines pilot died on a flight from Phoenix to Boston.

Incidents like the ones on those flights are rare, notes CBS News transportation correspondent Kris Van Cleave, but they’re a primary reason for having two pilots in the cockpit.