Sudden Death and Incapacitations Among Pilots

Pilot Incapacitations and Deaths in Aug-Sep 2023

Sep. 24, 2023 – Austrian Airlines Flight OS-188 (STR-VIE) Stuttgart to Vienna – The captain became incapacitated, and the first officer took control of the aircraft.

Sep. 23, 2023 – Alaska Airlines Pilot – 37-year-old Captain Eric McRae died suddenly in his hotel room during a layover, was to fly that morning.

Sep. 22, 2023 – Delta Flight DL-291 (CDG-LAX) Paris to Los Angeles – The pilot became incapacitated, and was taken to the cabin for care, the plane diverted to Minneapolis, pilot was taken to the hospital.

Aug. 27, 2023 – Air Canada Flight AC348 (YVR-YOW) Vancouver to Ottawa – One of the pilots felt ill and became incapacitated 50 min before landing in Ottawa.

Aug. 17, 2023 – IndiGo Flight (NAG-PNQ) Nagpur to Pune, India -The 40-year-old pilot Manoj Subramanium died after collapsing at the boarding gate, about to board.

Aug. 16, 2023 – Qatar Airways Flight QR579 (DEL-DOH) Delhi to Doha, Qatar – The 51-year-old pilot collapsed as a passenger inflight and died, the plane diverted to Dubai.

Aug. 14, 2023 – LATAM Flight LA505 (MIA-SCL) Miami to Santiago, Chile – 2 hours into the 8-hour flight, 56-year-old Captain Ivan Andaur collapsed and died in the lavatory – plane diverted to Panama City.

Aug. 9, 2023 – United Airlines UAL1309 (SRQ-EWR) Sarasota to Newark – The pilot had a heart attack and lost consciousness in flight.

Aug. 7, 2023 – TigerAIR Flight IT237 (CTS-TPE) Sapporo to Taipei – The copilot had a medical emergency after landing the plane in Taipei.


Pilot Incapacitations and Deaths (on Duty) Jan-July 2023:

July 19, 2023 – Eurowings Discover Flight 4Y-1205 (HER-FRA) Heraklion to Frankfurt – The pilot became incapacitated, the first officer took control, and landed safely.

July 16, 2023 – A small plane – a 2006 Piper Meridian, flying from Westchester NY – crashed at Martha’s Vineyard Airport after the pilot had a medical emergency upon final approach and a passenger took control of the plane and attempted a landing. The pilot, 79-year-old Randolph Bonnist, died later in hospital.

June 7, 2023 – Air Canada Flight ACA692 (YYZ-YYT) Toronto to St.John’s – First Officer became incapacitated, deadheading Captain assumed duties.

June 4, 2023 – Small plane – Cessna Citation N611VG flying from Tennessee to Long Island – Fighter jets spotted the pilot slumped over in the cockpit unconscious, the plane crashed and all onboard died.

May 11, 2023 – HiSKy Flight H4474 (DUB-KIV) Dublin to Chisinau (Moldova) – 20 min after liftoff pilot became “unable to act,” the plane was diverted to Manchester

May 4, 2023 – British Charter TUI Airways Flight BY-1424 (NCL-LPA) Newcastle to Las Palmas, Spain – The pilot became ill, and the plane diverted back to NCL.

May 3, 2023 – Air Transat and Air Canada Pilot Eddy Vorperian, age 48, died suddenly during a layover in Croatia.

April 21, 2023 – Easyjet Flight U2-6469 (LGW-AGA) London Gatwick to Agadir, Morocco – The first officer became incapacitated, and the plane was diverted to Faro, Portugal.

April 4, 2023 – United Airlines Flight 2102 (BOI-SFO) – The captain was incapacitated, and the first officer was the only one in control of the aircraft.

March 25, 2023 – TAROM Flight RO-7673 TSR-HRG diverted to Bucharest as 30 yo pilot had chest pain, and then collapsed.

March 22, 2023 – Southwest Flight WN6013 LAS-CMH diverted as the pilot collapsed shortly after take-off and was replaced by a non-Southwest pilot.

March 18, 2023 – Air Transat Flight TS739 FDF-YUL’s first officer was incapacitated about 200NM south of Montreal.

March 13, 2023 – Emirates Flight EK205 MXP-JFK diverted due to pilot illness an hour and a half after take-off.

March 11, 2023 – United Airlines Flight UA2007 GUA-ORD diverted due to an “incapacitated pilot” who had chest pains.

March 11, 2023 – A British Airways (CAI-LHR) pilot died of a heart attack in a crew hotel in Cairo before a Cairo to London flight (name & age not released).

March, 3, 2023 – Virgin Australia Flight VA-717 ADL-PER Adelaide to Perth flight was forced to make an emergency landing after the first officer suffered a heart attack 30 min after departure.
Military Pilot Incapacitations:

Aug. 18, 2023 – A US Army Aviation Center (Alabama) student pilot went into cardiac arrest behind the controls mid-flight (Aug.18, 2023). The instructor landed the plane – the pilot was dead for 18 minutes.

Recent Pilot Deaths (Not on Duty):

Pilot death – May 2023 – 4 Singapore Airlines pilots died suddenly in May 2023.

Pilot death – May 9, 2023 – United Airlines and US Air Force Pilot Lt. Col. Michael Fugett, age 46, died unexpectedly at his home.

Pilot death – April 13, 2023 – Phil Thomas, a graduate of Flight Training Pilot Academy in Cadiz, Spain (FTEJerez) died suddenly.

Pilot death – March 17, 2023 – 39-year-old Westjet Pilot Benjamin Paul Vige died suddenly in Calgary.

Read the full article by Frank Bergman: https://slaynews.com/news/pilot-packed-passenger-becomes-incapacitated-plane-makes-emergency-landing/


See also:


Why are so many airline pilots dying? (Richard Vobes/YT):