Three pilots ‘die suddenly’ in one week

An IndiGo airline pilot Thursday collapsed at the boarding gate in Nagpur airport and was pronounced dead at the hospital, according to Hindustan Times. According to preliminary reports, 40-year-old Captain Manoj Subramanyam suffered a “sudden cardiac arrest.”

The day before, a Qatar Airlines pilot on flight QR 579 from Delhi to Doha died suddenly on board. The 51-year-old was reportedly traveling as a passenger.

“He was very fit and his untimely demise has come as a big shock for everyone who knew him,” said a colleague, reports the Times of India.

Three days before, a LATAM flight from Miami to Santiago, Chile Monday was forced to divert to Panama City after its pilot died suddenly in the lavatory.

LATAM Airlines Flight LA505 had reportedly been in the air for three hours when Captain Ivan Andaur collapsed in the bathroom and did not respond to resuscitation attempts. The co-pilot and a relief captain landed the plane safely at Tocumen International Airport in Panama City, where passengers were stranded for several hours.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has yet to investigate a link between pilots and COVID vaccines but denies there is one: "The FAA has no evidence of aircraft accidents or incapacitations caused by pilots suffering medical complications associated with Covid-19 vaccines," a spokesperson told AFP. 

The LATAM Airlines incident came a week after the co-pilot on Tigerair Flight IT237 from Japan to Taiwan suddenly lost consciousness mid-flight. The captain was nevertheless able to land the plane successfully.

According to another report, a United Airlines flight reported its pilot suffered a sudden heart attack mid-flight but regained consciousness. The captain reportedly returned to the cockpit, though it was unclear in what capacity.

“The captain on United Airlines 1309 SRQ-EWR suffered a reported heart attack and loss of consciousness in flight. Paramedics met the aircraft at the gate. How are those ‘vaccines’ working out for everyone?” commented American Airlines First Officer and co-founder of the aviation advocacy group US Freedom Flyers Josh Yoder.

Just over two weeks prior, an emergency was declared aboard a Eurowings Discover Flight when the pilot became “incapacitated." 

Three days earlier, a 2006 Piper Meridian plane crashed near Martha’s Vineyard when a female passenger took control of the plane after the pilot suddenly lost consciousness. The passenger was unharmed.

The month prior, the first officer aboard an Air Canada flight from Toronto to St. John’s, Newfoundland suddenly became “incapacitated.” A “special passenger” assisted in landing the plane safely.

Three days earlier, a Cessna Citation whose pilot was reportedly slumped over in the cockpit crashed in Virginia. The crash killed everyone onboard, including a two-year-old child.

Less than a month before, HiSKy Flight H4474 from Dublin to Chisinau, Moldova diverted to Manchester after one of the pilots became “unable to act” 20 minutes after takeoff.

A week earlier, a TUI Airways flight from Newcastle to Las Palmas was forced to return to its origin after a pilot suddenly became “ill.”

One month before, the first officer on board a United Airlines flight reported he was in sole control of the aircraft after the captain became “incapacitated.”

Less than two weeks earlier, a TAROM flight from Timisoara, Romania to Hurghada, Egypt was forced to make an emergency landing in Bucharest after its 30-year-old pilot suffered chest pains and became incapacitated.

Three days before, a Southwest Airlines flight from Las Vegas to Columbus, Ohio was diverted when the pilot collapsed shortly after take-off.

Four days earlier the first officer on board Air Transat Airbus A321 from Fort-de-France to Montreal, Canada suddenly became “incapacitated.”

Five days prior an Emirates flight from Milan to Dubai was forced to return to Malpensa airport after the flight’s first officer suffered a sudden, unidentified illness.

Two days earlier a United Airlines flight flying from Guatemala to Chicago was rerouted to Houston after the pilot reportedly suffered a medical emergency and became “incapacitated.” According to an internal communication, the pilot was suffering from chest pains.

Just over a week prior, a Virgin Australia flight from Adelaide to Perth was forced to make an emergency landing after its pilot suffered a heart attack thirty minutes into the flight.