Etihad pilot dies mid flight
Well, file this one under “everyone has to go sometime…”
An Etihad Airways pilot died yesterday on EY 927 traveling from Abu Dhabi to Amsterdam. Shortly after take off, per a statement from the airline, the pilot became “incapacitated” and the First Officer issued an emergency order to land as quickly as possible. Shortly after safely diverting the plane to Kuwait, the pilot died receiving medical care on the ground.
Etihad has issued a very short statement, simply saying “We are deeply saddened by the loss, and are focused on taking care of our late colleague’s family at this time, to whom we offer our heartfelt condolences.”
They did not release any other information about the passenger, but they did mention that they contacted his family.
You can see the flight was severely delayed (over 14 hours) and you can actually track the path of the plane as it diverted to Kuwait; via FlightStats:
From FlightStats.com
From FlightStats.com
Not Uncommon…
Although this is a horrible incident, it’s not entirely without precedent.
In October of 2015, an American Airlines pilot died mid flight and just earlier this year another American Airlines pilot died just before landing.
Since this was a cargo flight and not a commercial one, no passengers were onboard.
September 30, 2017
I can’t imagine how scared everyone on the plane was when this was announced. Our condolences to the pilot’s family.