When A Pilot Passes Out, Flying A Plane
The incident of a pilot passing away while flying an aircraft is not common but has happened a few times.
In October 2010, the captain of a Qatar Airways plane died while flying the aircraft from the Philippines to the Qatari capital, Doha.
Al Jazeera reported that the assistant pilot took control of the plane and the flight was then diverted to Kuala Lumpur where it landed at around 11.30am local time.
The pilot reportedly died of a heart attack but the company did not confirm the cause of death, or if the flight was ever at risk. Qatar Airways said in a statement that its priority “remains the comfort and safety of its passengers and staff”.
On January 19, 2025, a Lufthansa Boeing 747 was forced to make an emergency landing when its captain fainted shortly after takeoff from Miami. Business Day quoted Aviation Herald as saying that Flight LH463, bound for Frankfurt, was diverted to Montreal when the pilot lost consciousness while flying over the eastern US coast.
The co-pilot took control of the aircraft while two flight attendants rushed to provide first aid to the captain in the crew lounge. Facing deteriorating weather conditions and down one pilot, the crew decided to divert the plane over Nova Scotia at 30,000 feet.
Lufthansa spokesperson said: “The flight landed there normally and safely, and the colleague received medical care. Lufthansa regrets the inconvenience caused to the passengers. The safety of our passengers and crew members is our top priority at all times.”
Similar incidents have occurred in recent years. In 2019, a Jet2 captain fainted on a Manchester to Madeira flight, forcing an emergency landing in Porto. That same year, a student pilot had to make an emergency landing after his instructor lost consciousness during a training flight.
A Turkish Airlines pilot died mid-flight while operating an Airbus 350 between Seattle and Istanbul in 2024. The 59-year-old veteran had worked for the airline since 2007 and had passed his medical examination in March.
On February 17, 2024, a Lufthansa flight was forced to make an emergency landing after the co-pilot fainted mid-flight, leaving the plane without a conscious pilot in the cockpit for approximately 10 minutes. The incident occurred on a flight from Frankfurt to Seville, Spain. The captain was in the restroom when the co-pilot collapsed. The plane, an Airbus A321, landed safely in Madrid, and the co-pilot was taken to a hospital.
In Safety Recommendations, the investigation raised again, the issue of cockpit safety and recommended that airlines consider continuous double occupancy of the cockpit during flights, especially when one pilot needs to leave the cockpit.
The British Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) had reported 32 occasions in 2009 when pilots were incapacitated during a flight.
In the preceding year, co-pilots had to step in 39 times for a wide variety of reasons, including food poisoning, nausea and fainting. Although modern passenger aircraft are able to fly themselves during most of a flight, the presence of a co-pilot in the cockpit is essential in case of the captain becoming unwell, or of a particularly dangerous emergency situation.
