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Unwell co-pilot passes out in cockpit of FlyBe passenger plane, leading plane to roll to the left


Big News Network.com
21 Jan 2017

DUBLIN, Ireland - All the 33 passengers and four crew members onboard the FlyBe Bombardier DHC 8-402 were in for a shock when the aircraft did an unexpected roll just before its descent into Dublin Airport.

According to reports, the pilot of the passenger plane from Exeter in England to Dublin felt an unexpected aircraft upset, a yaw and roll to the left, by approximately 18 degrees before the descent. 

When he turned to enquire about the same with the co-pilot, his second-in-command, he found him unconscious. 

The pilot then immediately made a PAN (urgency) call to Dublin Air Traffic Control (ATC) asking for priority landing.

A cabin crew member is then said to have secured the co-pilot in his seat for landing and assisted with the pre-landing checklists.

The pilot is said to have disconnected the autopilot, restored a wings level conditional and retarded the engine power in a bid to maintain a stable descent. 

The flight landed safely about 20 minutes after the incident in Dublin and paramedics attended to the co-pilot immediately after landing.

The incident that occurred on April 27, 2016 led to the immediate hospitalization of the co-pilot and doctors found that he had suffered a brief loss of consciousness (syncope) due to a sudden drop in blood pressure.

It was found that the co-pilot was “probably under some stress on the morning of the flight” as a day after the incident, his young child had a hospital appointment. 

Air accident investigators revealed that the co-pilot, “who had become incapacitated, had inadvertently made an input to the left rudder pedal” that caused the aircraft to roll.

Further, investigators pointed out, “This condition can commonly occur in healthy people and recovery is normally prompt and without any persisting ill effects.”

Flybe’s operator meanwhile said, “The reaction by the rest of the crew was swift and effective and they should be commended for their calmness, initiative and attitude throughout the incident.”

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