Germany updates: Chancellor Merz meets Italy's Meloni – DW – 05/17/2025
05/17/2025
May 17, 2025 Lufthansa flight in 2024 goes 10 minutes without pilot
A Lufthansa flight from Germany to Spain last year went without a pilot for 10 minutes after its co-pilot lost consciousness while the captain was in the restroom, the German news agency DPA reported on Saturday, citing a report from Spain's accident investigation authority CIAIAC.
The Airbus A321, which was carrying 199 passengers and six crew members from Frankfurt to Seville, ended up making a safe but unplanned landing in Madrid after the incident so the sick co-pilot could be quickly brought to a hospital, according to the report.
During the health emergency, the plane's autopilot ensured the jet was able to fly safely despite the fact that the unconscious co-pilot seemed to have unintentionally operated the controls.
The captain first unsuccessfully tried entering a regular code alerting anyone in the cockpit to open the door before resorting to an emergency code that would have allowed him to open it himself.
But shortly before the door would have opened automatically, the co-pilot managed to let the captain in despite his state, the DPA reported.
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