The Aviation Herald experiences on some findings which have simply been launched concerning a Lufthansa incident from a while in the past. The main points are sort of surprising.
Lufthansa pilot turned incapacitated whereas alone in flight deck
On February 17, 2024, a Lufthansa Airbus A321 with 205 folks onboard operated flight LH1140 from Frankfurt (FRA) to Seville (SVQ), and needed to divert to Madrid (MAD). The crew knowledgeable air site visitors management that the primary officer wasn’t feeling effectively. The aircraft landed there a short time later, and the aircraft ended up spending round 5.5 hours on the bottom, earlier than persevering with to Seville.
Okay, this appears like a non-event, proper? So why am I writing a few random diversion over a 12 months later? Properly, Spain’s Civil Aviation Accident and Incident Investigation Fee (CIAIAC — that’s a mouthful!) has issued its report on the incident, and it tells the wild story of what precipitated the diversion.
Particularly, the primary officer turned incapacitated whereas the captain was stretching his legs within the cabin. Moreover, whereas incapacitated, the primary officer was unintentionally pushing buttons and controls! Listed below are the findings:
- Whereas the aircraft was at cruising altitude, the captain left the flight deck for a loo break
- Earlier than leaving, the 2 pilots had a dialog concerning the climate situations and the operation of the plane, with out the captain noticing something uncommon within the first officer’s habits
- The primary officer skilled a sudden and extreme incapacitation whereas alone within the flight deck, and was unable to alert the remainder of the crew to his situation
- Throughout his incapacitation, the primary officer inadvertently operated switches and flight controls
- The autopilot system remained engaged and the flight path was maintained
- After the captain had left the cockpit and the primary officer suffered the sudden and extreme incapacitation, the plane continued to fly for about 10 minutes within the cruise section, with the autopilot engaged, however with out further supervision by both pilot
- As a way to achieve entry to the flight deck, the captain used the emergency code
- Earlier than the emergency entry code timer expired, the co-pilot opened the flight deck door manually from the within
- In view of the emergency, the captain made the choice to land on the nearest airport
Whereas it occurs on occasion {that a} pilot turns into incapacitated, it’s extraordinarily uncommon for this to occur whereas the opposite pilot occurs to be on a break, so clearly that’s regarding. What precipitated the primary officer’s well being challenge? We don’t know precisely, however it was “the manifestation of a symptom of a situation that had not beforehand been detected.”
For these inquisitive about flight deck entry for the captain, the way in which it really works is that there’s a code to enter the flight deck. Nonetheless, there’s a delay till the flight deck door opens, in order that the pilot contained in the flight deck can approve or reject the request. Clearly on this case it wasn’t being rejected, however as an alternative, it simply wasn’t being accepted.
A two-person flight deck rule is sensible, no?
I’ve zero worry of flying, with one minor factor that typically makes me uneasy. The one concern I’ve about aviation security is pilot psychological well being, and particularly, airways that don’t have a rule of getting two folks within the flight deck in any respect time.
Through the years we’ve seen a number of aircraft crashes occur attributable to intentional acts by pilots. Heck, a number of weeks in the past, it was the 10-year anniversary of the crash of Germanwings 9525, the place the primary officer deliberately crashed the aircraft whereas the captain was on a rest room break.
Thank goodness that on this case the primary officer had no unhealthy intentions, and was simply incapacitated. However I simply can’t wrap my head round how widespread of a trigger this has been over time (Malaysia Airways 370, EgyptAir 990, SilkAir 185, and plenty of extra), however someway we’re at all times so fast to neglect.
Am I the one one who simply feels extra comfy when there are two folks within the flight deck moderately than one? At the very least right here in the US, it is a normal requirement.
Backside line
A Lufthansa diversion in February 2024 was extra dramatic than it initially appeared. We knew a pilot wasn’t feeling effectively, however there’s much more to it. The flight’s first officer turned incapacitated whereas the captain was on a break within the cabin. The primary officer even reportedly pushed buttons and flight controls by mistake, although luckily didn’t disengage the autopilot.
What do you make of this Lufthansa A321 incident?
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