A flight from Las Vegas to Newark, New Jersey, had to make an emergency landing in Colorado Springs, Colorado, on Sunday after the pilot fainted mid-flight, according to The Telegraph. Passengers say that when the plane’s crew didn’t come back after 20 minutes of trying to get their attention, they started pounding on the cockpit door and screaming at the top of their lungs. One passenger even opened the emergency exit and jumped onto the wing of the plane when he saw smoke coming out of one of its engines. Luckily, it was only steam from a burst pipe.
Is The Flight Attendant To Blame?
We don’t know what caused the pilot to faint, but it is important to consider that passengers would have felt more at ease if they knew that the pilot was only mildly inconvenienced and had not fainted due to some kind of medical condition. After all, flight attendants are there for a reason.
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Airlines May Face Legal Issues Over ‘Fainting’ Pilots
Generally, when a pilot faints or becomes incapacitated during a flight, their crew will try to make an emergency landing at the nearest airport. In some instances, airlines have faced legal action and investigation by federal safety officials over whether a pilot intentionally or unintentionally took sick leave to avoid working. Due to the highly-sensitive nature of air travel security and potential violations of airline laws, passengers may not be aware of when a flight is grounded due to medical emergencies with pilots.
Earlier in 2017, an American Airlines flight from Miami to Paris was forced to land in Boston when a pilot began experiencing symptoms of a heart attack. The crew alerted passengers, who were told that they’d be making an emergency landing due to weather concerns. This type of situation is often handled with caution by airlines and their legal advisors, who don’t want to discuss details that may violate medical privacy laws or even leave themselves open for legal action if there are allegations of fraudulent sick leave or pilot misconduct.
How Will This Affect You?
The plane was headed to Boston when the pilot passed out and had to make an emergency landing in Syracuse, New York. The crew did not know what had happened, as the pilot lost consciousness at 30,000 feet. All but two of the crew made it off of the flight and were hospitalized. Due to a nationwide shortage of pilots, one pilot is unable to fly this plane home and it remains grounded until more trained pilots are available for duty.
#Airline Passengers Stuck After Emergency Landing Due to Fainted Pilot
Now that a pilot has passed out in flight, it raises questions about how much are airlines truly looking out for their passengers. Should they begin drug tests? While drug testing is something that could go far and affect everyone involved, it may not be as easy to accomplish as one would like. Although some have made headlines for failing these tests, many of those fail for reasons outside of flying an airplane. Some pilots have failed based on medications used for personal use such as anxiety medication and sleep aids. This do not mean that these pilots aren’t capable of doing their job effectively and safely.
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What About The Crew Members?
Airline passengers were left stranded for five hours when a jet had to make an emergency landing due to the pilot fainting. Passengers had to go without food and water for hours until being allowed off the plane. We have been very clear that safety is our highest priority, and protecting the health of our crew and passengers is a fundamental obligation, an airline spokeswoman told Fox News. When that responsibility extends to a medical situation with one of our pilots, we are responsible for getting care. The airline said it was providing what they need while on board but refused to provide any details about the situation or offer more information as to why their captain passed out.
The statement comes after a number of passengers on board reported feeling nervous and worried when they learned that they would have to land in Charleston, South Carolina, due to a medical issue with their pilot. One passenger who was traveling on his honeymoon told Fox News that he was pleased with how everyone handled themselves during a very stressful situation. It’s pretty much what you’d expect when you are told your pilot is sick and you don’t know if it’s life-threatening or not so people were worried about that for sure, another passenger told CNN. The crew did an awesome job handling it really well too. Everybody kept calm and there wasn’t really any panic from anybody or crew members coming down and making things worse.
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