Pilot of Boeing Aircraft Suddenly Dies During Flight Across Russia: Officials

A plane is seen in a file photo (John Fredricks/The Epoch Times)

A pilot died suddenly during a flight between the Russian cities of Novokuznetsk and St. Petersburg on Sunday, officials told state-run media.

Authorities told RIA Novosti that the unnamed pilot, identified as a flight commander, felt sick during the trip.

The co-pilot of the Ikar Airlines Boeing jet had to make an emergency landing at the airport in Omsk. The commander died before medical attention could be given to the pilot, officials said. Ikar Airlines is also known as Pegas Fly.

“The resuscitation ambulance team arrived at the airport ten minutes before the plane landed. The team stated the death of the pilot before providing medical assistance,” the Ministry of Health of the Omsk Region told RIA and TASS News, according to a translation.

Petrushina Ekaterina, the top assistant to the head of the Eastern Interregional Investigation Department for Transport of the Russian Investigative Committee, told the state-run outlet that the landing in Omsk went smoothly and no one was hurt.

An investigation into the flight commander’s death is underway, Ekaterina said.

Further details about the incident were not provided. The cause of death of the pilot has not been revealed.

The Epoch Times has contacted Pegas Fly for comment.

Other Incidents

In late August, the pilot of a Jet2 passenger jet reportedly fainted while en route from England to Turkey before the plane made an emergency landing in Greece.

“Flight LS1239 from Birmingham to Antalya diverted to Thessaloniki Airport as a precautionary measure on Tuesday (August 23) due to one of the pilots feeling unwell. A replacement crew were flown to Thessaloniki so that we could get customers on their way to Antalya that same evening,” a Jet2 spokesperson told media outlets in August.

“We communicated this to our customers as soon as possible, and our teams worked extremely hard to look after everyone. We would like to apologize to anyone affected by this unforeseen delay,” the spokesperson said.

A week before that, two pilots fell asleep during an Ethiopian Airlines flight from Sudan and Ethiopia, officials told SimpleFlying. The pilots have since been suspended, the airline said.

“The concerned crew have been removed from operation pending further investigation. Appropriate corrective action will be taken based on the outcome of the investigation. Safety has always been and will continue to be our first priority,” the company confirmed.

Inside the United States, Allied Pilots Association Communications Chair Dennis Tajer told Fox Business in early August that there have been an increasing number of pilots complaining about fatigue or stress in recent months.

Elaborating, Tajer said that there was a fourfold increase in the number of fatigue calls among American Airlines pilots in June. The increase, he said, was a “warning sign that the system is under unnecessary duress.”