Gulf Air crew member 'dies suddenly' mid-flight

Gulf Air Flight GF-19 from Bahrain to Paris was forced to make an emergency landing Tuesday after a flight attendant suffered a sudden heart attack mid-flight.  

About an hour and a half after takeoff, the Airbus A321 was flying at 34,000 feet when crew member Yasser Saleh Al Yazidi reported feeling ill, reported the NZ Herald. Al Yazidi suffered a heart attack and the pilots made an emergency landing in Erbil, Iraq so Al Yazidi could receive medical attention at a local hospital. He was pronounced dead upon arrival. 

“The national carrier expresses its deepest condolences to the crew member’s family and loved ones, and confirms that the flight resumed to Paris as scheduled,” said Gulf Air in a statement. 

“Gulf Air reassures that the safety of its passengers and crew comes at the top of its priorities, and thanks the affected flight’s passengers for their patience and understanding,” the statement added. 

The incident is the second reported sudden death occurring mid-flight in under two weeks. 

On November 19, a newly hired Envoy Air pilot collapsed just minutes after takeoff and was pronounced dead at the hospital shortly after an emergency landing, reports Alex Berenson.  

Captain Patrick Ford had just taken off from Chicago O’Hare Airport and was speaking with air traffic control when his voice suddenly stopped.  

“Can I help you?” the controller asked anxiously.  

“…3556, we need to return, captain is incapacitated,” Ford’s copilot Captain Brandon Hendrickson replied calmly, proceeding to smoothly land the plane.  

Ford was rushed to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead, though it is unclear if Ford’s body was unconscious or dead throughout the short flight. 

Public concern about flight safety has been growing as air travel remains one of the most hyper-vaccinated fields. 

As reported by America’s Frontline News this week, JetBlue would sooner hire a violent felon on probation to pilot a plane than someone who refused the COVID-19 injections. 

Despite there being no federal vaccine mandate for aircraft pilots or crew, JetBlue’s job applications state that all employees must be vaccinated in order to be employed by the airline.   

“Every decision JetBlue has made throughout the pandemic has been with our safety value front and center,” says the airline. “Whether it’s requiring masks, or many of the other health and safety protocols we’ve had to navigate during the pandemic, all of these efforts have been focused on making the workplace and air travel safer for you and our Customers. As part of our commitment to health and safety, COVID-19 vaccines are required for all JetBlue employees. New hire employees must be fully vaccinated prior to the start of training.”  

But while unvaccinated pilots are persona non grata, the Daily Wire reports that according to two pilots who work for JetBlue, the airline recently hired John Perrys, a man who entering a judge’s home and attacking his daughter with a metal baton as she was coming out of the shower. Perrys served nine years in prison and remains on felony probation until 2044.  

“Apparently JetBlue won’t hire unvaccinated pilots, but they will hire violent convicted felons to fly their airplanes,” one pilot said on condition of anonymity.