Wizz Air first officer loses consciousness in flight, captain declares Mayday
On 9 October, the first officer of a Wizz Air Malta Airbus A321neo lost consciousness on a flight from Gothenburg to Gdańsk, and the captain declared an emergency. The aircraft landed safely in Gdańsk, and Polish investigators classified the event as a serious incident.
An aviation incident occurred on 9 October on a flight from Gothenburg, Sweden, to Gdańsk, Poland: the first officer of an Airbus A321neo lost consciousness, and the captain declared an emergency. Flight W6-1736 was operated by Wizz Air Malta, a unit of the low-cost airline Wizz Air. The aircraft landed without problems, but Poland's aircraft accident investigation commission classified the event as a serious aviation incident and opened an investigation.
How the incident unfolded
The aircraft was at an altitude of about 10.7 kilometres when the first officer began to feel unwell. According to the news outlet Index, citing the flight safety portal AeroInside, he complained of stomach problems and asked the captain for permission to go to the toilet before descent began. After leaving the cockpit, he lost consciousness.
While the crew gave him assistance, the captain informed air traffic control and sent the international distress signal Mayday. In line with safety requirements, a member of the cabin crew took the first officer's seat in the cockpit so they could assist the captain if needed.
The aircraft continued to Gdańsk and landed about half an hour after the emergency was declared. The unconscious pilot was handed over to paramedics and taken to hospital.
Similar cases
This is not the first time a Wizz Air pilot has lost consciousness during a flight. On 28 June, on a flight from Catania, Italy, to Gdańsk, the first officer also lost consciousness, and the captain had to make an emergency landing in Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia. There were 127 passengers on board.
In another case, at the end of August, a pilot of US carrier Delta Air Lines flying a Boeing 757 from Minneapolis to Orlando felt unwell. The health problems appeared four minutes after takeoff, so the crew returned to the airport, and the aircraft landed safely.
In commercial aviation, pilots must meet strict health requirements, and crews are trained to act when one pilot can no longer fly the aircraft. The aim of the safety procedures is to ensure that a safe landing is possible even with a single pilot.
