Pilot died during a flight

There are always two pilots at the controls of a commercial airliner, but the thought of one of them becoming incapacitated during a flight still remains unnerving.Yesterday's incident aboard a Continental Airlines jet inbound from Brussels in which the captain died while in flight underscored those concerns.
Flight safety experts, however, say there was never any danger. One pilot alone can fly and land a modern Boeing 777. The flight landed safely at Newark Liberty International Airport and passengers never knew what had happened in the cockpit until they were on the ground.
How unusual was this incident?
It's very unusual, but it happens, said air safety analyst Todd Curtis of Airsafe.com.
Incapacitation of a pilot is fairly rare,There are no accurate records, but there have been some fairly prominent events.
Earlier this year, a British Airbus A320 bound for Cyprus diverted to Turkey after the co-pilot died in mid flight. In January 2007, a Continental flight from Texas to Mexico made an emergency landing after the pilot fell ill. The co-pilot safely landed the plane carrying 210 passengers. The pilot died on the ground. In May 2000, Taiwanese carrier China Airlines was forced to turn back shortly after takeoff when the pilot suffered a heart attack. The co-pilot returned the plane to the airport and the pilot died soon after arriving at a hospital. In March 1997, a Gulf Air Airbus A320 skidded at Abu Dhabi airport after a pilot had a heart attack right at takeoff.
A 2004 FAA study found nearly 50 incidents of pilot impairments or incapacitations in a study of U.S. airline pilots from 1993 to 1998. Flight safety was an issue in seven of those flights and two results in nonfatal accidents.
With two pilots in the cockpit, who typically flies the plane?

A. Les Westbrooks, a former airline and military pilot, said both the captain and the first officer are fully capable of flying a jetliner by themselves. The controls on both sides of the cockpit are identical.