Virgin Australia Pilot Suffers ‘Heart Attack’ 30 Minutes After Takeoff, Prompting Emergency Landing
A Virgin Australia flight from Adelaide to Perth was forced to make an emergency landing after the First Officer reportedly suffered a heart attack just 30 minutes after departure.
The incident occurred on 3rd March and resulted in the Airbus A320 being forced to return to Adelaide, where emergency responders were waiting to transport the sick pilot to the hospital.
Very few details about the incident have so far been made public by Australia’s aviation accident investigation bureau, but the AVHerald reports that the First Officer became incapacitated after suffering a heart attack.
The Captain of the flight declared an emergency and successfully landed the aircraft around 70 minutes later.
Australian aviation regulators require pilots to undergo a yearly medical examination, although an ECG is only required for the initial medical and then at ages 25, 30, 32, 34, 36, 38 and 40.
After the age of 40, an ECG is required annually. The medical process also includes a calculation of cardiovascular risk.
Although rare, midflight heart attacks are not unheard of.
Last November, the Captain of an American Eagle flight died from a suspected heart attack shortly after takeoff from Chicago O’Hare, while the Captain of a Biman Bangladesh Airlines flight became incapacitated and later died last August during a flight from Muscat to Dhaka.
Mainstream media pushing for one pilot in cockpit…
I have not seen any mainstream media reporting of this frightening incident. However, I have seen many articles from the media pushing for one pilot in the cockpit instead of two.
Why airplanes might soon have just one pilot (CNN) (click here)
Airlines want you to get comfortable with flying without a co-pilot. Pilots—and fliers—are not convinced (Fortune) (click here)
Airlines are lobbying for a change to federal regulations that could put one pilot in the cockpit (CBS News) (click here)
Airlines Move To Have One Pilot, Not Two, In Cost-Cutting Solution (Forbes) (click here)
“In a move to save costs and ease staff shortages, many countries are asking the UN body that controls global aviation safety rules, to move to a one-pilot model in commercial flights, instead of two.”
My Take…
As I’ve written before, I fear that we are getting closer and closer to a major airline crash due to pilot and or co-pilot incapacitation, as a result of COVID-19 vaccine injuries.
In the meantime, the mainstream media are aggressively pushing the concept of only one fully COVID-19 vaccinated pilot in the cockpit. Almost as if they want a major airline crash to take place. Would such an incident bring about a crackdown on flying in general? To fight climate change? And for our safety, of course?
I am currently working on a substack about small plane crashes and helicopter crashes in the past year where there was no obvious evidence of mechanical problems. As you can imagine, there are many of them.