At some point between Frankfurt, Germany, and Seville, Spain, during the Feb. 17, 2024, flight, the co-pilot of an Airbus A321 passed out when the captain got up to use the restroom, the report said. A Lufthansa Frankfurt to Seville flight in February last year is said to have taken off and flown for approximately 10 minutes without a pilot at the helm after the co-pilot who was alone in the cockpit passed out, German news agency dpa said on Saturday.
The accident took place on February 17, 2024, on an Airbus A321 flight that had 199 passengers and six crew members. The co-pilot became unconscious while the captain was in the toilet, a report by Spain’s air accident investigation authority, CIAIAC, stated. The plane with 199 passengers and six crew members flew for approximately 10 minutes without a pilot in charge of the plane, as reported.
Lufthansa informed dpa that it was familiar with the report on the investigation and had also carried out an investigation by its own flight safety department. The company did not release its findings, dpa reported.
Although the unconscious co-pilot operated controls unintentionally, the aircraft was able to continue flying in a stable manner thanks to the active autopilot. During this period, the voice recorder recorded strange noises in the cockpit that were consistent with an acute health emergency, dpa reported.
The captain had first attempted to use the normal door opening code, which rings a buzzer within the cockpit so that the co-pilot can come in. He did this five times without succeeding to enter the cockpit. A stewardess attempted to call the co-pilot over the onboard telephone.
Lastly, the captain entered an emergency code which would have opened the door for him manually. But just as the door would have opened by itself, the co-pilot manually opened it from the inside while he was sick, according to dpa. The pilot made a detour to Madrid, and the plane made an unscheduled landing there and took the co-pilot to a hospital for evaluation. The plane proceeded onward later without any problems.
