KLM pilot collapsed three minutes after takeoff from Dublin Airport – Homepage

Seán McCarthay

Two years ago, a Dutch passenger plane with 41 passengers and crew on board had to declare an emergency within three minutes of takeoff from Dublin Airport after the plane’s 35-year-old pilot collapsed in his seat.

A new report from the Air Accident Investigation Unit also found that the KLM flight from Dublin to Amsterdam suffered a bird strike when it was forced to make an emergency landing at the airport shortly afterwards.

The AAIU investigation set out details of an incident classified as “serious” that occurred on October 19, 2022.

The emergency involved an Embraer E175-200 STD aircraft with 37 passengers and four crew members on board.

The AAIU report detailed how the first officer told the commander shortly after takeoff at 8:22 a.m. that he was not feeling well before collapsing in his seat and rapidly becoming incapacitated.

The flight commander tried in vain to resuscitate his colleague by shouting loud words and shaking his shoulder.

The incident occurred just three minutes into the flight, when the aircraft had reached an altitude of 10,000 feet.

AAIU investigators confirmed that the autopilot was engaged at the time.

The aircraft commander took over all flight duties and issued a Mayday alert to air traffic controllers to request clearance to return to Dublin Airport and to inform airport authorities that medical assistance was required.

He also immediately requested assistance from the cabin crew by pressing the emergency button and knocking on the cockpit door.

Although the flight officer regained consciousness and appeared stable, the commander decided that he was not fit to be part of an active cockpit crew.

Cabin crew helped secure the flight officer in his seat, which had been moved away from the cockpit controls, and place an oxygen mask on his head.

The passengers were informed over the aircraft’s loudspeaker system that the plane had to return to Dublin and that they would receive further instructions from the commander after landing.

AAIU investigators reported that the aircraft encountered a flock of birds during approach at an altitude of approximately 30 metres and suffered a bird strike on the left side of the aircraft’s nose.

According to the report, the bird strike did not cause any problems but could have significantly increased the workload of the remaining pilot.

A normal landing was performed at 8:40 a.m., although the pilot reported that weather conditions had deteriorated at that time.

A medical examination of the sick pilot revealed that he was suffering from low blood pressure, possibly due to a lack of water and food combined with an increase in cabin pressure after takeoff.

KLM told Irish investigators that the initial and recurrent training it conducts in a simulator includes the actions to be taken if a pilot becomes incapacitated.

The AAIU found that the incident occurred without significant warning shortly after take-off, during a phase of the flight that involves a high workload for the flight crew.