Dramatic audio released of Carrie Fisher emergency call
NEW YORK -- The pilot of the plane carrying actress Carrie Fisher as she suffered a medical emergency told air traffic control, “We have an unresponsive passenger,” according to audio from the flight.
The audio, which was released on Saturday by LiveATC.net and obtained by the Reuters news agency, offered insight into events as they unfolded during Fisher’s medical emergency on Friday. She was flying from London to Los Angeles.
“We have some passengers, nurses assisting the passenger,” the pilot of the plane told air traffic control. “We have an unresponsive passenger. They’re working on her right now.”
“Is there medical personnel at the gate?” the air traffic control operator asked.
“Yeah, we’ve coordinated medical personnel for the gate,” the pilot responded.
Tributes and well-wishes continued to pour in for the “Star Wars” actress on Saturday, as she spent Christmas Eve in a Los Angeles hospital.
“Princess Leia can survive anything!” one fan wrote on Twitter. “Hold on, Carrie Fisher. We’re taking you into 2017 with us,” wrote another.
Her “Star Wars” co-star Harrison Ford said, “I’m shocked and saddened to hear the news about my dear friend. Our thoughts are with Carrie, her family and friends.”
Another co-star, Mark Hamill, said he was “sending all our love.”
Todd Fisher, the actress’ brother, said Friday night that his sister was receiving excellent care, but that he could not classify her condition. He had earlier told The Associated Press that she had been stabilized and was out of the emergency room. In a subsequent interview he said many details about her condition or what caused the medical emergency are unknown.
Fans on Twitter hoped she would pull through. One wrote: “Carrie Fisher survived alcoholism, addiction, depression, bipolar disorder & 60 years in Hollywood. If anyone can survive 2016, it’s her.”
The actress’ former co-star Peter Mayhew, who played “Star Wars” character Chewbacca, called her “everyone’s favorite princess right now.”
A law enforcement official told CBS News Fisher went into cardiac arrest. Celebrity website TMZ, which first reported the incident, said anonymous sources told them the actress suffered a heart attack. She was treated by paramedics immediately after the plane she was taking from London landed in Los Angeles, according to reports citing unnamed sources.
Todd Fisher said much of what had been reported about the incident was speculation.
“We have to wait and be patient,” he said. “We have so little information ourselves.”
Fisher’s publicists and representatives for her mother, Debbie Reynolds, and her daughter, Billie Lourd, did not return calls from the AP.
Los Angeles Fire Department spokesman Erik Scott said paramedics administered advanced life-saving care to a patient at Los Angeles International Airport on Friday and transported the person to a nearby hospital. He did not identify the patient.
A large gathering of media personnel was camped outside Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles hospital, where TMZ and the Los Angeles Times reported she had been taken.
Fisher is considered by many to be a member of Hollywood royalty -- her parents are Reynolds and the late singer Eddie Fisher.
Catapulted to stardom as Princess Leia in 1977’s “Star Wars,” Carrie Fisher reprised the role as the leader of a galactic rebellion in three sequels, including last year’s “Star Wars: The Force Awakens.”
The author and actress may be best known for her portrayal of Leia, but she is also an accomplished writer known for no-holds-barred accounts of her struggles with addiction and mental illness.
Most recently, Fisher has been promoting her latest book, “The Princess Diarist,” in which she reveals that she and co-star Harrison Ford had an affair on the set of “Star Wars.”
