( CNN ) -- It sounds like the plot from an old movie : airline crew members make this passenger announcement , `` Is anyone on board a pilot ? '' That was the situation last December when Air Force Capt . Mark Gongol and his wife and daughter were traveling from Des Moines to Denver aboard a United Boeing 737 . `` I looked at my wife and she looked back at me and she said , ' I think you should ring the call button , ' '' Gongol told CNN on Tuesday . Gongol , who pilots B1B Lancer bombers , already could tell something was wrong . Flight attendants were rushing to the front of the aircraft . One was carrying a first-aid kit . When Gongol reached the cockpit , it was clear the captain was in trouble . Passengers and crew were helping him out of the cockpit . A cot had been set up . The captain looked pale and clammy from an apparent heart attack , Gongol remembered . Gongol stepped onto the flight deck and came eye to eye with the first officer . `` There was a moment , '' he recalled . `` We both had about five seconds to size each other up . She was wondering about my level of experience . Was I a Cessna driver -- or a professional pilot ? `` I wanted to make sure she was OK . I had a feeling she was -- she was better than OK. She had already made the decision to turn the plane toward the nearest airport . '' Gongol strapped himself in and did what he could to help get the plane to the airport in Omaha . Never taking the controls , Gongol acted as a backup for the first officer . He worked the radio , communicating with air traffic controllers -- updating them on the condition of the captain , passengers and the aircraft . Although he never suspected he would have to fly the plane , piloting a B1B bomber is n't too different from a 737 , Gongol explained . `` A plane is a plane , '' he said . `` It 's like the difference between driving a pickup truck , or a sedan . The same skills transfer . '' After landing , the airliner taxied as near a terminal gate as possible -- and ground crew maneuvered a rolling stairway to one of the plane 's exits . The captain was rushed by ambulance for treatment . After Gongol and his family got off the aircraft , they simply `` slinked out the back door , '' with the Air Force pilot feeling confident he 'd done all he could to help . Gongol 's story never surfaced until recently , when the Air Force received requests from news reporters . Later Gongol received some good news : the captain had survived -- and recovered . `` The captain called me up a month or two later , '' Gongol remembered . `` He said it was a really rotten event , but fortunately a lot of things fell into place . '' And what did Gongol 's wife say after this memorable flight ? `` She said , 'Good job , ' '' Gongol laughed . `` She 's a woman of few words . She was happy that I was there . '' Passenger lands plane after pilot falls ill .
Air Force pilot backs up first officer during medical emergency last December . A United 737 from Iowa to Colorado diverted to Nebraska . Pilot handled radio communication with controllers while first officer landed the plane . He kept quiet about his story until recently when reporters asked the Air Force .