New Delhi: 2 pilots die in 2 days

New Delhi: India has seen the deaths of two pilots in two days. While an IndiGo captain fell unconscious at a boarding gate in Nagpur on Thursday, a Qatar Airways pilot suffered a heart attack onboard a flight on Wednesday.

The IndiGo captain was supposed to operate a flight from Nagpur to Pune and had reached the boarding gate when he lost consciousness. He was taken to a hospital where he was declared dead.

Captain Manoj Subramanyam (40) fell unconscious in the security hold area of the airport around 12 noon, they said. Prima facie, he died of “cardiac arrest following sudden unexpected loss of heart function”, said KIMS-Kingsway Hospital where he was rushed. Aejaz Shami, spokesperson of the hospital, said their emergency team administered him CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation) but he did not respond.

A statement issued by IndiGo said, “We are saddened at the passing of one of our pilots in Nagpur earlier today. He took unwell at Nagpur airport and was rushed to the hospital where he unfortunately passed away. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family and loved ones.”

The Qatar Airways pilot was travelling in the passenger cabin of a Delhi-Doha flight as an additional crew member when he suffered a cardiac arrest and died. He had earlier worked with SpiceJet, Alliance Air and Sahara.

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation has confirmed the deaths.

The incidents come days after a pilot collapsed in the bathroom of a commercial flight from Miami to Chile, which had 271 passengers on board. An emergency landing was carried out in Panama on Sunday night and Captain Ivan Andaur was declared dead by medical experts at the airport.