Somewhere over Oregon, the unidentified pilot of a Boeing 737-700, carrying 116 passengers and five crew, lost consciousness was leaving the cockpit to use the lavatory while the plane was on autopilot. The co-pilot took over operations in the cockpit.

After leaving the cockpit, the pilot lost consciousness and collapsed as he came out of the cabin, hitting his head. A fourth-year medical student came to his aid. It was reported by an airline spokesman that the pilot fainted twice while on the flight. It is reported that the pilot suffered from either a stomach bug or food poisoning.

The aircraft, that had left Los Angeles at 6:30 pm PST was headed for Seattle. Declaring an emergency, the jet made an unscheduled landing in Portland after the pilot fell ill. It landed there at 9pm. Fire crews and emergency personnel were waiting as the plane landed. Once on the ground in Portland, the plane needed to be towed to the terminal as it was the pilots job to guide the plane there.

Passengers that needed to be in Seattle at a certain time were shuttled there by a Horizon flight. The remaining passengers continued their flight after a relief pilot was sent to Portland and flew the jet back.

The pilot, who has been flying for Alaska Airlines for 28 years was taken by ambulance to a local hospital, he was checked out and on Friday was doing fine enough to be released from care.

This is the second pilot to lose consciousness in 10 days aboard an airline. The two cases are unrelated according to reports. The first pilot, on January 22, is confirmed to have the flu, and passed out between Seattle and Las Vegas.