The Aviation Herald reports on some findings that have just been released regarding a Lufthansa incident from some time ago. The details are kind of shocking.
In this post:
Lufthansa pilot became incapacitated while alone in flight deck
On February 17, 2024, a Lufthansa Airbus A321 with 205 people onboard operated flight LH1140 from Frankfurt (FRA) to Seville (SVQ), and had to divert to Madrid (MAD). The crew informed air traffic control that the first officer wasn’t feeling well. The plane landed there a short while later, and the plane ended up spending around 5.5 hours on the ground, before continuing to Seville.
Okay, this sounds like a non-event, right? So why am I writing about a random diversion over a year later? Well, Spain’s Civil Aviation Accident and Incident Investigation Commission (CIAIAC — that’s a mouthful!) has issued its report on the incident, and it tells the wild story of what caused the diversion.
Specifically, the first officer became incapacitated while the captain was stretching his legs in the cabin. Furthermore, while incapacitated, the first officer was accidentally pushing buttons and controls! Here are the findings:
- While the plane was at cruising altitude, the captain left the flight deck for a bathroom break
- Before leaving, the two pilots had a conversation about the weather conditions and the operation of the aircraft, without the captain noticing anything unusual in the first officer’s behavior
- The first officer experienced a sudden and severe incapacitation while alone in the flight deck, and was unable to alert the rest of the crew to his condition
- During his incapacitation, the first officer inadvertently operated switches and flight controls
- The autopilot system remained engaged and the flight path was maintained
- After the captain had left the cockpit and the first officer suffered the sudden and severe incapacitation, the aircraft continued to fly for about 10 minutes in the cruise phase, with the autopilot engaged, but without additional supervision by either pilot
- In order to gain access to the flight deck, the captain used the emergency code
- Before the emergency access code timer expired, the co-pilot opened the flight deck door manually from the inside
- In view of the emergency, the captain made the decision to land at the nearest airport
While it happens every so often that a pilot becomes incapacitated, it’s extremely rare for this to happen while the other pilot happens to be on a break, so obviously that’s concerning. What caused the first officer’s health issue? We don’t know exactly, but it was “the manifestation of a symptom of a condition that had not previously been detected.”
For those curious about flight deck access for the captain, the way it works is that there’s a code to enter the flight deck. However, there’s a delay until the flight deck door opens, so that the pilot inside the flight deck can approve or reject the request. Obviously in this case it wasn’t being rejected, but instead, it just wasn’t being approved.
A two-person flight deck rule makes sense, no?
I have zero fear of flying, with one minor thing that sometimes makes me uneasy. The one concern I have about aviation safety is pilot mental health, and specifically, airlines that don’t have a rule of having two people in the flight deck at all time.
Over the years we’ve seen several plane crashes happen due to intentional acts by pilots. Heck, several weeks ago, it was the 10-year anniversary of the crash of Germanwings 9525, where the first officer intentionally crashed the plane while the captain was on a bathroom break.
Thank goodness that in this case the first officer had no bad intentions, and was just incapacitated. But I just can’t wrap my head around how common of a cause this has been over the years (Malaysia Airlines 370, EgyptAir 990, SilkAir 185, and many more), but somehow we’re always so quick to forget.
Am I the only one who just feels more comfortable when there are two people in the flight deck rather than one? At least here in the United States, this is a standard requirement.
Bottom line
A Lufthansa diversion in February 2024 was more dramatic than it initially appeared. We knew a pilot wasn’t feeling well, but there’s a lot more to it. The flight’s first officer became incapacitated while the captain was on a break in the cabin. The first officer even reportedly pushed buttons and flight controls by mistake, though fortunately didn’t disengage the autopilot.
What do you make of this Lufthansa A321 incident?
This bothers me to no end. It made no sense to me when the EU dropped the rule after Germanwings and made it voluntary. Just plain stupid.
There is an alternative theory that Simon over at avherald proposed of a coverup in regards to the Germanwings crash, sloppy post crash investigation as well as possible fault with the Airbus aircraft in question. Regardless of cause, it would make sense to have a second person in the flight deck when one of the pilots needs to leave the flight deck.
I’m stunned that the German government didn’t require that two people always be in the cockpit during flight after a Germanwings copilot chose to fly a plane full of passengers into a mountain.
you and me both
They did. I think it was an EU rule after that. And then they either dropped it or made it voluntary. And LH of course took them up on it. Completely nuts.
Did Europe aviation not learn from the Germanwings accident? Sure that one was suicide, but it exposed a glaring risk in leaving a single person on the flight desk.
Every day is a learning day, I didn’t know there was an “emergency code” I assume this is a standard code or is it part of pre flight and each pilot creates their own? And does this code override the lock feature that is actioned from the cockpit?
Most of this is sensitive security information (SSI) and sharing it is prohibited. If you need to know, you’d know.
Wow, the entire two people in the cockpit rule in the U.S. came after the GermanWings suicide (I think after?) so it is shocking that Germany would be a country not requiring this like the U.S.
When I'm on a narrow body and a pilot needs a break, I normally see a flight attendant take the seat of the pilot on break until the pilot returns to the cockpit. Is this not the case?
@ GM -- It's required in many countries, including the United States. But in most of the world, it's not the standard procedure.
I'm actually not a fan of the two person rule will because the barrier to become a FA is a lot less than a pilot. Somebody with bad intent become FA much faster then a pilot. This type of event in flight doesn't concern me too much, because the plane will almost certainly be on autopilot (as it was).
@ Brian G. -- So I hear you, though let's also consider history. How many times has a plane been intentionally downed by a flight attendant who entered the cockpit? Zero, as far as I know. Meanwhile that can't be said for pilots.
well if the ONE pilot is incapacitated and no one else can get into the cockpit, how would the plane land?!
What kind of “incapacitated”? He needed to go potty real bad? Or he had a stroke?
Seizure, likely.
@TravelinWilly he kept trying to input controls, though. Sounds more like an ischemic event that impaired judgment or situational awareness (i.e. stroke).