A 205 -person Lufthansa flight on board was without a pilot for 10 minutes after the co -pilot was passed out while alone in the cabin.
According to one from Ciaiac, Spanish Authority for Accident Investigation, a flight from Lufthansa, which had left Frankfurt for Seville, was during 10 minutes without pilot.
If according to the report, the commander had briefly left the cabin to go to the bathroom when The co -pilot fainted during the flight, on February 17, 2024.
A total of 199 passengers and six members of the crewThey were aboard the Airbus A321 at the time, says the report.
The aircraft continued to fly stable for being at the time with the active autopilot. However, the Copilot operated inadvertently Some controls, says the report.
The document adds that “consistent sounds with sudden disability and severe ”of the copilotEgypts on the recorder of voice during this period. An air traffic controller tried to contact the co -pilot three times, but had no answer.
The report indicates that the commander Returned from the bathroom And tried unsuccessfully to open the cabin door with a normal opening code that plays the cabin. The commander made five attempts to open the door, and a member of the cabin crew made an intercom calling to the cockpit.
No response from the cabin, The commander used an emergency code To gain access and then assumed the control of the aircraft.
Speaking to, Lufthansa said she was aware of the report and that had cooperated with the authorities Spanish, adding that your Flight Security Department itself also conducted an investigation. The company has deemed to make more comments about the report.
According to the report, the Copilot received first aid crew and a doctor, who traveled as a passengerhaving recovered the consciousness. Later, he said that remembered to have been treated by crew and the doctor.
After the incident, the commander deflected the flight to Madrid airportwhere he landed about 20 minutes later. Once in the Spanish capital, the co -pilot was transferred to the hospitalwhere it remained for a few hours.
The investigation also determined that the loss of consciousness of the co -pilot was a symptom of a pre-existing neurological condition that he did not know, and that had not been detected during your aeronautical medical examination. The co -pilot’s medical certificate has been suspended, the report adds.
Ciaiac classified the incident as a “extraordinary circumstance”And hesitated that the commanders are treigns for situations where the other pilot is disabled.
Although rare, the disabilities in flight – including the sudden death of pilots “They occur,” said Ciaiac said, citing several reports.
The authority said it had Identified 287 Flight pilots disabilities In a database of transportation reports, managed by the European Commission, during the period 2019-2024.
In a 2004, also the US Federal Aviation Administration identified 39 Flight Disabilities among Pilots of US airlines over a period of six years, between 1993 and 1998.
