Riyadh, Mar 4: A Saudi passenger aircraft captain died minutes before landing a plane in the Gulf Kingdom forcing his co-pilot to take over.
Realising that something was wrong, his co-pilot, Rami Ben Ghazi was forced to take over control and successfully managed to bring the plane down to land.
Ben Ghazi then radioed ahead for an emergency team to be on standby to help the captain.
Despite emergency first-aid from the cabin crew and an ambulance rushing to the scene, the captain was already dead, having suffered a heart attack that had apparently killed him instantly.
A spokesman for the state-owned Saudia Airlines - also known as the Saudi Arabian Airlines - said: 'The aircraft and the passengers were not in danger for a moment as the co-pilot managed to land safely.'
Local reports said the flight was en route to the capital Riyadh from the southern town of Bisha - also known as Qal'at Bishah - when the incident took place.
Up to 220 passengers were said to be onboard the two hour flight.
Saudia is the flag carrier airline of Saudi Arabia and the third largest in the Middle East in terms of revenue, behind Emirates and Qatar Airways.

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