A packed passenger jet has been forced to make an emergency landing after the plane’s pilot collapsed suddenly mid-flight, triggering panic among the crew and travelers on board.
The plane was operated by EasyJet, a low-cost airline based in the United Kingdom.
It was flying from Hurghada, Egypt, to Manchester, UK when the pilot suffered a “medical emergency” en route.
The pilot reportedly collapsed around two hours into the flight, a passenger told the Manchester Evening News.
Panic began to spread through the plane as passengers began to realize the pilot was incapacitated.
The crew made an emergency appeal to passengers in the hope that a doctor was on board who could assist.
The travelers were initially unaware that the medical emergency involved the pilot.
However, the passenger told the outlet that “screams” began to emerge as the flight’s crew rushed passengers into the cockpit to help the pilot.
The passenger, who preferred to remain anonymous, told the outlet:
“At first we thought this may have been a passenger as nothing much was being said, other than the screams asking if anyone is medically trained, where a few passengers got up and assisted the cabin crew.
“The following call was from the cabin crew to advise this was the captain/pilot who was seeking medical attention and has fell unwell and we again would be further updated with what was going to happen,” the traveler added.
“At this point, the passengers were starting to get rather worried and anxious, including myself, knowing that it was a pilot and not the passenger.
“The ride began to get very rough and scary.”
“I got upset once I felt how rocky and rough the landing was and started to panic thinking it was the end,” the passenger added.
“Another passenger began to have a panic attack and was given an oxygen mask to help.”
EasyJet confirmed the incident in a statement to People.
The statement noted that the co-pilot was able to divert the flight and land safely in Athens, Greece.
The pilot reportedly received emergency medical treatment on the runway.
“The first officer performed a routine landing in accordance with standard operating procedures and the aircraft was met by paramedics on arrival in Athens,” the spokesperson confirmed.
The pilot’s condition was not confirmed by the airline and the nature of the medical emergency was withheld.
EasyJet also issued a statement to apologize for the inconvenience caused by the incident, as the flight was delayed overnight.
“We did all possible to minimize the impact of the disruption and arranged hotel rooms and meals where available,” the statement said.
“We would like to apologize to passengers for the inconvenience caused and thank them for their patience and understanding.”
EasyJet made international headlines last year when panicked passengers were forced to evacuate down a plane’s emergency slides after a vape pen explosion.
“I could smell and see smoke coming towards us from the front of the plane, so I asked my dad, ‘Is this protocol?’” a passenger told Storyful at the time.
“Then, a girl ran down the aisle with a bag, with smoke out of it.
“Then there was a cracking noise, which was the sound of the flames, which caused panic.”
