KLM Pilot Suffers Cardiac Arrest at GLA
Jackie Reddy December 05, 2016
The captain of a KLM plane bound for Amsterdam fell unconscious just before takeoff. He was resuscitated by a passenger and is now in stable condition.
The captain of a KLM plane suffered a heart attack on the runway at Glasgow Airport (GLA) late last Friday afternoon just as he was making preparations to takeoff for Amsterdam Airport Schipol (AMS).
The incident occurred at approximately 5 p.m. local time on December 2 and the Evening Standard has reported that the captain, who fell unconscious due to sudden cardiac arrest, was revived with the aid of a passenger.
The co-pilot was able to taxi the plane, which was carrying 128 passengers at the time of the incident, back to the gate. Airport fire crews met the plane and were able to successfully evacuate the pilot. The captain, a Dutch national, was taken by emergency paramedics to a local hospital in Glasgow.
A spokesperson for the local Scottish Ambulance Service confirmed that “We took a call that a man was having a heart attack at Glasgow Airport. We attended the scene and arrived at 5:25 p.m.”
The captain, who has not yet been named, is in stable condition at the city’s Golden Jubilee Hospital.
While the flight itself was cancelled because of the emergency, all passengers had their tickets re-booked.
Commenting on the incident, a spokeswoman for KLM told the paper, “During taxiing to the runway on this KLM flight to Amsterdam the captain became unwell and the staff treated him with the help of a passenger.”
According to the IB Times, a serious heart condition can result in the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) denial of a pilot’s medical certificate.
[Photo: Shutterstock]
