Pilot Thought Instructor Who Died Inflight Was ‘Just Pretending’

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A pilot was flying around northern England when his aviation instructor passed away from a fatal heart attack while the pilot believed the man was "just joking" around.

According to the report by the UK's Air Accidents Investigation Branch, which looks into civil aircraft accidents and incidents, the pilot claimed the 57-year-old senior flight instructor was slumped over as if he were sleeping on June 29 over Lancashire.

The pilot, who was unidentified in the report, claimed that he had requested the instructor's companionship for one circuit of the Blackpool Airport.

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The pilot had initially intended to depart the airport alone, but had changed his mind after determining that the crosswind was "above his personal limit to fly on his own."

The instructor agreed, and the two conversed ordinarily as the single-engine Piper PA-28-161 taxied to the runway.

However, shortly after takeoff, the pilot reported that the instructor's head had rolled back and that he looked to be faking sleep. 

The pilot reported that he felt there was nothing significantly wrong and carried on flying.

“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,” the report states.

The man's head finally fell onto the pilot's shoulder as they continued to fly, but the pilot "still thought the instructor was just joking with him and continued to fly the approach," according to the report.

The pilot didn't begin to feel concerned about the instructor's silence until after he had arrived.

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He called for help from an emergency team, but the man was not revived. The man, who had a history of high blood pressure and was taking medication to treat it, was found to have had a heart attack, according to an autopsy performed afterward.

“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,” the report states.

Three passengers who flew with him before the event said he appeared well and nothing unusual had happened, according to the report.

In three confirmed incidents on board commercial aircraft in the UK, a pilot had a heart attack while the aircraft was in flight, but in each case, the other pilot was able to successfully land the aircraft, according to a review of prior aviation incidents reports going back to 2005.

The Air Accidents Investigation Branch gave the Lancashire incident pilot credit for a successful landing, adding that "had this occurred on another flight, the outcome could have been different."