Two Indian Pilots Among Three Dead Within 3 Days: Pilot Fatigue Or Mere Coincidence?

Three pilots, operating with three different airlines have lost their lives within a span of three days, creating a scare among the aviation industry. While some are blaming the deaths to pilot fatigue, others are calling it a mere coincidence. Two among three deaths are confirmed to be cardiac arrests, and both pilots originated from India. In the first incident, an IndiGo pilot collapses moments before boarding a flight in Nagpur and was declared dead later. The second incident was reported from Qatar Airways where a pilot died enroute to Doha and in the third incident, a LATAM Captain collapsed in the bathroom mid-air. 

In a chilling incident, an IndiGo pilot scheduled for a flight from Nagpur to Pune collapsed right at the boarding gate, moments before the flight. He lost consciousness on Thursday at the Nagpur Airport and was declared dead in the hospital, said the airline official. “We are saddened at the passing of one of our pilots in Nagpur earlier today. He took unwell at Nagpur airport and was rushed to the hospital where he unfortunately passed away. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family and loved ones,” IndiGo said in a statement.

Pilot Dies On Qatar Airways Flight

On Wednesday, an Indian-originpilot from Qatar Airways, who was travelling as a passenger on a flight from Delhi to Doha, passed away during the flight. He fell seriously ill during the journey on the flight QR 579 and was declared dead at the Dubai Airport, where the flight was rerouted. The Qatar Airways pilot had earlier worked with SpiceJet and Alliance Air. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation confirmed the deaths.

LATAM Captain Collapses In Bathroom

A senior airline pilot working as a Captain with LATAM died after collapsing in the bathroom of a Miami to Chile flight with 271 passengers aboard. Captain Ivan Andaur was operating the LATAM Airlines flight from Florida to Santiago on August 14 and began feeling unwell three hours into the flight. He collapsed in the bathroom, and the plane was diverted to the Panama City’s Tocumen International Airport. The first responders declared Andaur dead when the plane landed.

“LATAM Airlines Group reports that flight LA505, which was on the Miami-Santiago route, had to land at the Tocumen International Airport in Panama due to a medical emergency for one of the three members of the command crew. When the plane landed, emergency services provided life-saving help, but the pilot sadly passed away,” the airline had said in a statement.

Pilot Fatigue

A lot of social media users are blaming pilot fatigue for all the three deaths involving pilots. As per DGCA officials, the IndiGo pilot had 27 hours of rest between his previous flight and the flight which he was supposed to fly on Thursday. The pilot had operated two sectors, from Trivandrum To Nagpur Via Pune, between 3 am and 7 am on Wednesday and was scheduled to fly four sectors starting 1 PM from Nagpur Airport. 

In two cases, both involving Indian pilots, Cardiac Arrest has been ascertained as the reason for deaths, while the reason for the death of LATAM pilot is not yet clear. Pilot Fatigue is a phenomenon where pilots gets tired flying flights on non-stop sectors, without much rest in between. For the unitiated, it’s not just a couple of hours of flight that a pilot flies. Pilots are usually the first ones to reach the airport to inpect the plane and need lot of concentration for a safe flight.