A newly hired American Airlines regional jet pilot collapsed just after takeoff in Chicago on Saturday night

He could not be revived. Cause of death unknown; American will not disclose any details, including his vaccination status. The co-pilot took over and averted catastrophe.

At 7:59 p.m. on Sat., Nov. 19, Captain Patrick Ford collapsed at the controls of his American Eagle Embraer 175 - only seconds after the 76-seat jet had left the runway in Chicago.

Ford was speaking to an air traffic controller at Chicago O’Hare, one of the world’s busiest airports, when his voice abruptly stopped, a publicly available recording of the i…