May 19, 2025 – A chilling incident of February 17, 2024, has surfaced about a Lufthansa flight with 205 people on board which flew for about 10 minutes without a pilot. This was after the co-pilot who was in the cockpit alone fainted while the captain had briefly left the cockpit to visit the washroom. The door of the cockpit had shut automatically.

According to a report from Spain’s accident investigation agency CIAIAC, the worrying incident occurred onboard a Lufthansa Airbus A321 from Frankfurt to Seville (Spain) which flew for about ten minutes without a conscious pilot. Miraculously, the plane’s autopilot kept the flight stable, preventing disaster.

The captain made five attempts to enter the cockpit using the standard entry code. This triggered a buzzer in the cockput but the co-pilot did not respond. The crew members too tried to alert him through the cockpit phone. However, about after 10 minutes the co-pilot regained partial consciousness and enough to unlock the door and let the captain in who took over control of the aircraft which was carrying 199 passengers and six crew members.

The flight was later diverted to Madrid where the co-pilot was hospitalised immediately. Later, investigations revealed a seizure caused by a previously undiagnosed neurological condition.

The incident highlights the crucial role of two pilots in the cockpit. It also flags the regular monitoring of the medical fitness of pilots and cockpit access issues.

With Media Inputs