A co-pilot was forced to take over the controls of a packed passenger jet and make an emergency landing after the pilot suffered a sudden “indisposition” and could no longer fly the plane.
The EasyJet plane made an emergency landing in Portugal during its flight from London to Morocco.
The pilot suddenly “fell ill” mid-flight and required emergency medical assistance, according to The Daily Mail.
The co-pilot is said to have landed the aircraft at Portugal’s Faro airport with 100 people on board.
The flight was diverted to Faro after taking off from London’s Gatwick Airport just after 6.30 am Friday morning (local time).
The jet was bound for Agadir in Morocco and was due to arrive at 9.25 am local time.
Online flight trackers are showing the Airbus A320’s unscheduled stop following the mid-air alert.
Leading Portuguese daily Correio da Manha is reporting a Faro airport source has told it the diversion is the result of the pilot suffering an “indisposition.”
It said a red alert had been activated and the co-pilot successfully landed the plane.
No other details have been revealed regarding the pilot’s medical condition.
It is not yet clear what time the plane will now reach its destination and whether the pilot will continue on the flight or be taken to the hospital.
Unfortunately, this incident is just the latest in a long line of similar mid-flight emergencies.
As Slay News previously reported, another airline pilot collapsed at his plane’s controls and died suddenly shortly after taking off from Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport in November.
Captain Patrick Ford of the American Eagle Embraer 175 passed out at the controls and died mid-flight.
The plane had taken off from the runway and was en route to Columbus, Ohio when Captain Ford collapsed.
The co-pilot was forced to take over the controls and return the plane to land in Chicago.
During a separate incident last month, a United Airlines passenger jet was forced to make an emergency landing in Houston, Texas after the pilot became suddenly “incapacitated” while suffering from “chest pains.”
According to the UAL file, “Left seat Capt had chest pains. Could not get him out of the seat. Right seater [co-pilot] landed.”
This news comes after reports that a British Airways pilot suddenly dropped dead shortly before he was due to fly a passenger jet carrying 200 passengers.
As Slay News reported, the pilot, who hasn’t been identified by the airline, died at a hotel in Egypt after collapsing unexpectedly.
He was on his way to Cairo Airport to fly a British Airways (BA) plane back to Heathrow in the UK.
The flight crew gave first aid to their colleague in the foyer of the hotel in Cairo after he had a heart attack.
They performed CPR as they desperately tried to save his life but were unsuccessful.
The plane, which was ready to take off for Heathrow Airport, was delayed by the tragedy.
However, the passengers on board the jet were blissfully unaware that their pilot had just dropped dead.
In one incident reported by Slay News in February, an American Airlines pilot suffered a massive heart attack just six minutes after landing a passenger plane carrying almost 200 passengers.
Captain Bob Snow survived the heart attack but is now speaking out to raise the alarm about pilot safety.
Snow lambasted the Biden administration and Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for mandating Covid shots for pilots, which he blames for his own heart failure.
READ MORE: Wealthy Elites Now ‘Require’ Unvaxxed Pilots to Fly Private Jets
