An aircraft pilot in the UK had reportedly suffered a cardiac arrest while on a flight and subsequently died, but the co-pilot thought that he was joking and continued flying.
According to the BBC, the 57-year-old pilot had passed a medical test 4 months before his flight on a Piper-PA-28-161 light aircraft with a co-pilot on 29 June 2022, around Blackpool Airport.
He was asked to join the flight because of safety reasons, due to the windy conditions, according to a safety report by the Air Accidents Investigation Branch.
What happened on the flight
The two pilots were having a normal conversation with each other while the plane was still taxiing on the runway.
The pilot who died told his co-pilot during the conversation “looks good, there is nothing behind you,” before he rolled his head backwards.
The co-pilot thought that his friend was pretending to nap and joking with him, as they were familiar and knew each other well.
The plane then took a turn and the pilot slumped over, with his head resting on his co-pilot’s shoulder, but the latter still thought that his friend was joking around, and he continued on his route.
He only realised that something was wrong during landing when the pilot remained unresponsive, and emergency services were then called.
But he was unable to be resuscitated by medical personnel and died.
The deceased had almost 9,000 hours of flight experience and had been in good spirits before the flight, and those who spoke to him on the morning of his death said that he was his normal cheerful self, with no indication that he was unwell.
The UK Civil Aviation Authority’s medical department reviewed the incident and concluded that the deceased had suffered an acute cardiac arrest and died.