20180531006439I

Incident (event) occurred while operating on flight route from cincinnati/northern Kentucky international airport (cvg) to punta gorda airport (pgd) during cruise at FL380 approximately 45 minutes prior to scheduled arrival time. First officer (fo) was the pilot flying during the event. At some point, the captain turned to the fo as if to continue their conversation in flight. The captain looked at the fo and opened his mouth and started to make a strange moaning sound while his face simultaneously turned red and created a distorted look upon it. The captain's body appeared to tense up. The fo tried to verbally cue him to establish communication, but the captain was unresponsive. The captain then slumped to his left and appeared limp. The fo tried to physically shake him to get his attention, but he still remained unresponsive. The fo immediately declared a medical emergency with ATC and requested vectors to the nearest airport with paramedics available. ATC provided a prompt vector and descent to divert towards jacksonville international airport (jax). After declaring the emergency the fo called the flight attendants to get further assistance. The fo had the lead flight attendant come into the flight deck to monitor the captain. At this point, the captain appeared to regain an awareness of his surroundings but still remained unresponsive. The fo instructed the lead flight attendant to secure the captain with his shoulder harness and also assist in keeping him away from the controls, if for some reason he attempted to manipulate the aircraft. The fo had the lead flight attendant stay in the flight deck and utilize the flight deck jumpseat for the duration of the flight. The fo instructed the other flight attendants to prepare the cabin for arrival due to a diversion with the incapacitated captain. While starting towards jacksonville international airport (jax), ATC advised the fo that Gainesville Regional Airport (gnv) was closer and had a great hospital nearby. The fo made the decision to divert to gnv instead. At some point while talking to ATC the fo advised ATC to contact allegiant air company dispatch as well. The fo descended as quickly as possible, while still allowing adequate time to brief a full approach due to possible inclement weather being a factor for the ILS approach into gnv, and review the airport diagram to ensure there would be adequate performance data. The aircraft landed normally and taxied off the runway to the nearest ramp location where paramedics and air stairs were waiting. After shutting down the engines the fo made a pa announcement informing the passengers that they were in gnv and to remain seated while paramedics boarded the plane to provide treatment to the captain. The captains condition continually improved from the onset of the first sign of duress. While on final approach the captain was responsive but still confused. After landing, he did not know what had happened and had thought he had just fallen asleep. The paramedics assessed the captain and escorted him off the aircraft to an ambulance and then to a hospital for further evaluation. After the captain was off the aircraft the fo coordinated with university aviation center FBO and the Gainesville airport operations team to create a plan of action to deplane the passengers into a sterile area. Once the plan to deplane was set into place the fo made another pa announcement in front of the passengers explaining the situation and asked them to grab their belongings and deplane the aircraft and advised them another crew would be enroute to replace the current crew so they could resume their travel.