A pilot died mid-flight after suffering a heart attack, but the other pilot with him thought his colleague was joking. It was only when they landed at the airport that the co-pilot discovered to his horror that his colleague had in fact died.
The tragedy happened in June of this year, but only now are the investigators officially publicizing the case. The UK’s Air Accidents Investigation Branch said the small four-seater plane took off from Blackpool Airport.
The report noted that the two pilots spoke shortly before takeoff, but did not exchange a word after boarding the plane. At one point, the co-pilot noticed that his partner’s head was thrown back, but thought he just wanted to rest and said nothing.
During the flight, the first pilot’s head rested on his colleague’s shoulder, but he again did not react, as he thought it was some kind of prank.
After they landed on solid ground, the pilot realized that his companion was still motionless and that his head was still resting on his shoulder. Then he signaled to Emergency Services and an air ambulance arrived on the scene. Despite the efforts of the medics, the 57-year-old man, who had hypertension, was pronounced dead.
