Pilots "incapacitated," "falling ill," suffering "medical emergencies," in the US (3), UK, Ireland, Romania and Australia, since March, 2023
These were all (thank God) non-fatal incidents
UNITED STATES
Reported on May 11:
A passenger with no flying experience landed a plane at a Florida airport after the pilot became incapacitated
May 11, 2023
See moment passenger lands plane after pilot had medical emergency
CNN — “I have no idea how to fly the airplane.”
The pilot on his single-engine Cessna 208 had “gone incoherent,” the passenger was telling air traffic controllers Tuesday afternoon, according to audio from LiveATC.net.
It was, he stressed, a “serious situation.”
Air Traffic Controller Robert Morgan, a certified flight instructor, was on a break when the call came in from the plane, headed out from the Bahamas.
“I rush over there and I walk in and the room is really busy … and they’re like, ‘Hey, this pilot’s incapacitated. The passengers are flying the plane. They have no flying experience,” Morgan told CNN’s “New Day” on Wednesday.
“I said, ‘Oh boy.’”
https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/florida-passenger-lands-plane/index.html
Reported on April 25:
TSA officers help save pilot’s life at Richmond International Airport
April 25, 2023
Henrico County, Va.— A pilot who suffered a medical emergency at Richmond International Airport (RIC) was reportedly saved thanks to two Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officers who came to his rescue. According to a report from the TSA, Nigel Allen and Trenard Collier were reportedly in the middle of their duties at the airport when an airline pilot suddenly collapsed from cardiac arrest. “Trenard saw the pilot on the other side of the atrium and told me, ‘I think that guy is about to pass out,’” Allen said. “I looked over just as the pilot fell to the floor.” The pilot reportedly approached a railing, staggered and fell down over his roller bags unconscious. Both officers immediately came to the pilot’s aid and Allen began performing first aid. Upon the arrival of first responders, Allen continued to assist as they performed CPR.
Reported on March 22:
Pilot from another airline helps land Southwest flight after captain falls ill
March 22, 2023
A pilot from another airline helped land a Southwest Airlines flight that left early Wednesday from Las Vegas after its captain became "incapacitated" and required medical attention, according to the airline and radio traffic data, in an episode that surprised some passengers who had no clue a pilot had fallen ill. Southwest Flight 6013 had taken off just after 6:30 a.m. bound for Columbus, Ohio, according to the flight-tracking site FlightAware. While it was airborne, one of its pilots "needed medical attention," a spokesperson for the airline said, without giving details about the health issue. In radio traffic archived by the website LiveATC, a person says the captain had started to feel stomach pain and then "fainted or became incapacitated" around five minutes later. The person says the captain "came back" around 60 seconds later and was being looked after in the back of the plane. "We need to get him on an ambulance immediately," the person said. Las Vegas resident Diane McGlinchey, who was on the flight with her husband, said Thursday that she didn't notice any panic when crew members initially went on the plane's public announcement system to ask whether medical personnel were on board. A passenger sitting up front who said she was a nurse put on her call light to help, McGlinchey said. She said she and her husband had been at the back of the plane and didn't notice it was the pilot who needed aid, but she said they knew the ill person was with the nurse in her row. The crew "calmly just would give us an update saying we're going to go back to Las Vegas, we have a medical emergency on board," McGlinchey said. Meanwhile, a credentialed pilot from another airline who was on board as a passenger entered the flight deck and assisted with radio communication as the second Southwest pilot flew the aircraft, the airline. According to FlightAware, the plane returned to Las Vegas' Harry Reid International Airport at about 7:50 a.m. A Southwest spokesperson said the plane landed safely and an alternate crew took over, operating the flight to Columbus.
Link
UNITED KINGDOM
Pilot incapacitation - British Charter TUI Airways Flight BY-1424 from (NCL-LPA) Newcastle to Las Palmas Spain pilot became ill
May 11, 2023
British Charter TUI Airways Flight BY-1424 from (NCL-LPA) Newcastle to Las Palmas, Spain pilot became ill on May 4, 2023, plane diverted back - 9th recent pilot incapacitation! A TUI Airways Boeing 737-800, registration G-FDZZ performing flight BY-1424 from Newcastle, EN (UK) to Las Palmas, CI (Spain), was enroute at FL360 over the Celtic Sea about 150nm south of Cork (Ireland) when the crew decided to return to Newcastle reporting one of the pilots became ill, descended to FL330 for the return, later FL250, burned off fuel at FL110 and landed safely back in Newcastle about 2 hours after leaving FL360. The aircraft is still on the ground the next morning about 13 hours after landing. No further information released.
IRELAND
Pilot incapacitation
May 11, 2023
Flight H4474 (DUB-KIV) to Chisinau, 20 min. after liftoff (1:10am) pilot became "unable to act", plane diverted on May 11, 2023.
ROMANIA
Reported on March 27:
Incident: TAROM B738 near Bucharest on Mar 25th 2023, captain incapacitated
March 27, 2023
A TAROM Boeing 737-800, registration YR-BGK performing flight RO-7673 from Timisoara (Romania) to Hurghada (Egypt) with 184 passengers on board, was enroute at FL370 about 150nm south of Bucharest in Bulgarian airspace when the first officer reported the captain had become incapacitated and they needed to turn around and divert to Bucharest. The aircraft landed safely on Bucharest's runway 26R about 80 minutes after departure. The aircraft remained on the ground for about 90 minutes, then departed again. The airline reported the "medical emergency of one of the members of the command crew" prompted the crew to divert to Bucharest. According to media reports in Bulgaria the captain (30 years of age) complained about chest pain and increased heart rate, then fell unconscious. The captain is on his way to recovery.
AUSTRALIA
Reported on March 7:
Virgin Australia Pilot Taken Ill Just 30 Minutes After Takeoff, Prompting Emergency Landing
March 7, 2023
A Virgin Australia flight from Adelaide to Perth was forced to make an emergency landing after the First Officer was taken ill just 30 minutes after departure. The incident occurred on 3rd March and resulted in the Airbus A320 being forced to return to Adelaide, where emergency responders were waiting to transport the sick pilot to the hospital. Very few details about the incident have so far been made public by Australia’s aviation accident investigation bureau, but the airline has denied an initial account reported by the AVHerald that the First Officer became incapacitated after suffering a heart attack. The First Officer was taken to the hospital for observation but was later reported to be okay. A spokesperson for the airline said passengers were accommodated on the next available flights.
It would be interesting to see a comparison of these events for, say, 2017-19 and 2021-23. Pilots did have medical issues or become incapacitated in earlier times but certainly not as often as they appear to be happening now. Same for celebrity “sudden and unexpected” serious illness and death.
I am a retired captain for a major US Carrier that I will not mention as I value my pension, but I can tell you there have been FAR more incidents than the public knows about very likely related to the CV19 shots.
I am sure you are familiar with ONE week shortly after the rollout for the vaccines when THREE British Airways captains, and reasonably young and exceptionally healthy died.
The Company even hosted a combined memorial in their offices for them simultaneously, yet of course denied that the premature deaths had ANYTHING to do with the jabs.
I am also sure you know that the US FAA was forced to alter the acceptable limits of EKG parameters for pilot physicals* since it was impossible for a very many to "pass" using the criteria used for many decades.
None of these are good signs!
*First Officers on Part 121 Airlines (Larger Scheduled Carriers) are required to take at least 2nd Class FAA physicals annually, whereas Captains are required to take semi-annual physicals, along with regular EKGs. Part 135 Operations (Lesser Commercial Operators) often require their pilots to also take 1st Class Physicals.
To see the FAA loosen he standards that have kept the industry safe for MANY decades is NOT a good open, especially when they refuse to discuss the reasons, and especially at a time when pilot qualifications for newly hired pilots are being relaxed and often dictated by "equity and diversity" rather than by merit and experience is a negative, and don't forget airlines are pushing due to costs and a pilot shortage to be talking about reducing the cockpit crew to ONE pilot citing improved automation assisting to where only one pilot is needed. I have 40 years flying experience and 27,000 flight hours between the military, airlines, and Part 91 general aviation (instructing, Alaskan bush flying), and NONE of these things are conducive to safety. Over the years, I have encountered MANY incidents in large jet transport aircraft where without a second or third pilot the aircraft would have been lost, and only coordination and extra eyes, hands, and experience saved the day.