A Lufthansa flight carrying 205 people made headlines after a copilot fainted while alone in the cockpit. The incident occurred on February 17, 2024, during a flight from Frankfurt to Seville, Spain.
Incident Details
- The captain had briefly left the cockpit to use the lavatory when the copilot lost consciousness.
- A total of 199 passengers and six crew members were on board an Airbus A321 at the time.
- The aircraft continued flying in a stable manner due to the autopilot being active.
- Sounds consistent with "sudden and severe incapacitation" were recorded on voice recorders during this period.
Response Actions
- An air-traffic controller attempted to reach the copilot up to three times but received no response.
- The captain tried opening the cockpit doors using codes that would have chimed if someone answered, making five attempts before gaining entry via an emergency code.
- Once inside, he took control of the plane and diverted its landing destination towards Madrid’s Adolfo Suárez Madrid-Barajas airport.
- They landed about twenty minutes later, and the copilot received medical attention from doctors present onboard.
Official Statements
- Spanish authorities described this incident as an "extraordinary circumstance."
- They noted that captains are trained for situations where another pilot becomes incapacitated, although such incidents are extremely rare.
- Inflight pilot incapacitations do occur occasionally; according to FAA data from 1993 to 1998, similar instances resulted in loss of life or serious injury among American airline pilots.
Lufthansa has acknowledged being aware of the investigation report by Spanish authorities into the incident but did not disclose any results. The German airline stated that its own flight safety department had conducted an investigation into the matter, also without disclosing results.
Lufthansa commented:
"We have been informed by Spanish authorities about their ongoing investigation. The incident is still under review within our internal safety procedures. We cannot comment further until all facts have been clarified."
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