The incident was a tragedy in midair and it took the life of the 49-year-old Aeroflot captain. He was piloting a domestic flight of an Airbus 320 from Moscow to Anapa and the flight was forced to make an emergency landing at another airport. Crew members arranged the safe landing of the aircraft. However, he died before the aircraft landed. It seems there were indications about issues connected to his health. This is because of what a flight attendant said to the Russian news outlet RT. The passenger said that they dropped hints about the ill health of a member of the cabin crew.

She said to RT : “A stewardess practically ran across the aisle. They later asked if there were any doctors on board and said they really needed them. Then they asked again".

Fox News says there was no one who could be of help, the inevitable happened, and he suffered a cardiac arrest. He is believed to have breathed his last in the cockpit “during the landing.” The flight had left from Moscow’s Sheremetyevo Airport and it was en-route to Anapa. It was a journey of slightly more than two hours but the tragedy struck mid-way. The flight continued with a replacement pilot from Anapa. The deceased pilot had mentioned about chest pains before he boarded the flight. Incidentally, he had cleared a “routine medical check-up” and there was no report of any adverse health issues that would have come in the way of piloting the aircraft, according to RT.

Authorities have launched an investigation to establish the facts.

The pilot took all precautions

According to Simple Flying, the pilot of the Aeroflot A-320 Airbus took all precautions to ensure the safety of the aircraft and its passengers.

The flight was between Moscow and the Black Sea resort of Anapa and a Russian Aeroflot co-pilot died after a mid-air heart attack. Efforts to revive him failed and medical personnel at Rostov pronounced him dead. The aircraft had made an emergency landing at Rostov. The co-pilot had complained about not feeling well when the Airbus was cruising at 33,000 feet.

After efforts to locate a doctor on board the flight failed, the captain outlined the situation to the ground control of Platov International Airport. He sought permission to carry out an emergency landing. The tower gave permission and assured they would deploy the necessary medical staff to meet the aircraft.

Simple Flying adds that incidents of this nature are rare when one of the pilots suffers a heart attack. Pilots are required to take a physical exam regularly every year and, in case they are over the age of 40, the frequency of medical check-up is once every six months.

The reason for having two pilots is obvious – if one is unable to fly the aircraft, the other will take over. In this connection, Ryanair boss Michael O’Leary had said in 2010 that short-haul flights only needed to have one pilot on board. However, the European Aviation Agency requires airlines to have two pilots in the cockpit.
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