Glasgow: pilot’s heart attack just before takeoff

It’s the kind of flight cancellation that passengers don’t regret. A KLM airline did not finally leave Glasgow airport (Scotland), although it was taxiing and preparing for takeoff. The pilot did indeed have a heart attack. Just in time: a few seconds later, his life and that of the 128 passengers would have been put at risk.

If the discomfort had occurred during the take-off maneuver, the outcome could have been much worse. Fortunately, the plane was stopped on the tarmac and its Dutch pilot was revived by the flight crew, assisted by passengers. He was then taken care of by the emergency services of Glasgow airport to be hospitalized. The co-pilot was then able to return the aircraft to the airport terminal, and disembark the passengers. They then had to wait for a new flight to reach their destination.

The co-pilot, luxury replacement

Pilot discomforts are not that rare. Several times a year, this kind of situation occurs in mid-flight. Food poisoning, heart attack, vagal discomfort or worse: in 2010, the captain of a Qatar Airways aircraft died on a Manila-Doha flight.

Flights are diverted or must return to their point of departure when the captain is no longer able to pilot the aircraft. In early 2015, an Air France aircraft making the connection between Charles de Gaulle airport (Paris) and that of the city of Stavanger, Norway, had turned around after a half-hour flight. The captain had indeed felt pain in his chest. The co-pilot then took over for the landing.

International regulations require the presence of two pilots in the cockpits of airliners, and three for long-haul aircraft. In the event of incapacity of one of the pilots, the second can take over and end the flight. This situation does not represent any particular danger, since the planes are designed to be piloted by a single person. In order to ensure that the replacement does not fall ill in his turn, the two pilots receive two different menus, when they are brought to feed.