Pilot fainted, nearly 200 passengers flew for 10 minutes without a pilot

The New York Post reported that the incident happened in February on an Airbus A321 departing from Frankfurt, Germany, to Seville, Spain.

According to a report by Spanish aviation investigators, the 43-year-old captain left the cockpit to use the toilet about 30 minutes before landing. Before leaving his post, he said the 38-year-old co-pilot, who was flying the plane at the time, "appeared alert and in full control of the situation."

However, when the captain returned about eight minutes later, he was unable to enter the cockpit. Despite entering the correct security code five times, the door would not open. The captain also tried calling the cockpit intercom but received no response.

Phi công ngất xỉu, gần 200 hành khách bay 10 phút không người điều khiển - 1 — A Lufthansa plane (Illustration: ZUMA Press).

He immediately activated the emergency code to open the cockpit door. However, before the emergency code was fully activated, the co-pilot suddenly regained consciousness and opened the door from the inside. The captain immediately regained control of the plane.

According to the report, the co-pilot was "pale, sweating and showing abnormal motor movements," forcing the captain to call the flight attendant for assistance.

A doctor who happened to be on the flight quickly performed first aid and suspected that the co-pilot had a heart problem.

After the plane made an emergency landing at the nearest airport in Madrid, the co-pilot was rushed to hospital. Doctors determined that he had suffered a “sudden and severe loss of control” due to a neurological disorder that caused seizures.

The co-pilot said he did not know how long he had been unconscious. He only remembered flying over the city of Zaragoza and then finding himself being treated by the flight crew and doctors.

"The loss of consciousness occurred so quickly that the co-pilot was unable to inform anyone of his condition," the report said.

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/du-lich/phi-cong-ngat-xiu-gan-200-hanh-khach-bay-10-phut-khong-nguoi-dieu-khien-20250517225607290.htm