Shocking details revealed as flying instructor dies inflight after suffering cardiac arrest

A FLYING instructor died inflight after suffering a cardiac arrest, according to a newly published safety report from the UK government.

The Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) of the UK government recently revealed that a flying instructor, who held a Class 1 Medical, died inflight after suffering cardiac arrest.

The incident happened last year and shocking details reveal that the co-pilot thought the 57-year-old instructor was “just pretending to take a nap.”

The unnamed instructor, who had accumulated around 8,876 flying hours, was accompanying the pilot aboard the four-person Piper PA-28 for safety reasons during windy conditions, according to the report.

“A qualified pilot had planned to fly G-BORL from Blackpool Airport to another airfield but when he arrived at the flying club and checked the latest wind, he decided the crosswind was above his personal limit to fly on his own,” the report read.

“Still wanting to go flying so that he remained within the flying club’s recency requirements the pilot asked an instructor if he would accompany him for a single circuit. The instructor agreed to fit in the circuit after he finished a trial lesson.”

The pair were flying near Blackpool Airport in Lancashire, England, on June 29, 2022.

“Following the trial lesson, the instructor met the pilot in G-BORL and the pilot taxied the aircraft out to the runway,” the report continued.

“The pilot recalled that during the taxi they were talking normally.”

It added: “He recalled telling the instructor he would keep the aircraft into wind for the power checks and the instructor replying, ‘looks good, there is nothing behind you’.

“The pilot did not recall the instructor saying anything else after this point.

“The pilot recalled that shortly after takeoff from Runway 28 the instructor’s head rolled back.

“The pilot knew the instructor well and thought he was just pretending to take a nap whilst the pilot flew the circuit, so he did not think anything was wrong at this stage.

“He proceeded to fly the aircraft around the circuit. As he turned onto base leg the instructor slumped over with his head resting on the pilot’s shoulder.

“The pilot still thought the instructor was just joking with him and continued to fly the approach. He landed normally on Runway 28 and started to taxi back to the apron.

The report then added: “However, the instructor was still resting on his shoulder and was not responding, and the pilot realised something was wrong.

“He signalled to the airport fire crew, who happened to be working on the apron, who came to assist.

“The fire crew and the air ambulance medical crew, who are based at the airport, attempted to revive the instructor but he remained unresponsive and they were unable to save him.”

According to a post-mortem, the instructor died from acute cardiac failure.

“His coronary arteries showed diffuse atheromatous disease (a condition where the arteries become clogged with fatty substances) and there was a coronary thrombus (blood clot) occluding his left main stem artery,” the report read.

“Toxicology showed no significant findings.”

It noted that the man “had medical history of hypertensive disease (high blood pressure) and had been taking blood pressure medication since 2002.”

It also noted that the instructor, who held a commercial pilot’s licence with valid single and multi-engine piston aircraft ratings, a valid instrument rating and a flight instructor rating and was employed as a full-time senior flight instructor, had his last aviation medical was on February 10, 2022 – four months prior to his sudden death.

The AAIB report noted that “people who had spoken to him on the morning of the incident said he was his normal cheerful self and there were no indications that he was feeling unwell.”

It added: “The three people who had flown with him for the trial lesson just prior to the incident flight said he seemed well and nothing abnormal had occurred.”

Analysis from the AAIB, citing the medical department of the U.K.’s Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), noted that the “flying instructor suffered a sudden fatal heart attack as the aircraft was taking off.”

It added: “On this occasion, he was flying with a qualified pilot who was able to land the aircraft safely.

“However, had this occurred on another flight the outcome could have been different.”

“No tests or assessment can give a 100 per cent reliable detection of cardiac issues” and “a balance needs to be struck between minimizing the risk to flight safety and providing fair and reasonable medical assessment of individuals,” the AAIB said.

“The rarity of accidents cause by cardiac events in flight suggests this balance is currently about right.”

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