A Lufthansa passenger plane was revealed to have flown for 10 minutes without a pilot. On the 17th (local time), the New York Post released a report from a Spanish aviation investigator stating that an incident occurred last February on a Lufthansa flight carrying 199 passengers and 6 crew members from Frankfurt, Germany, to Seville, Spain. During the flight, the captain left the cockpit to use the restroom, and the co-pilot lost consciousness, resulting in the plane flying without a pilot for 10 minutes.
According to the report, the 43-year-old captain, whose name was not mentioned, testified that with 30 minutes of flight time remaining, he left the 38-year-old co-pilot alone, who seemed alert and healthy, to visit the restroom.
The captain returned after 8 minutes but was unable to enter the cockpit despite entering the security code five times. He tried calling via the interphone connected to the cockpit but received no response, leading to the use of the emergency code.
Subsequently, the co-pilot regained consciousness and manually opened the cockpit door from inside before the emergency code timer expired. The captain then quickly resumed control of the aircraft.
The captain noticed the co-pilot’s face was pale, and he was sweating and moving oddly, prompting him to seek help from the cabin crew. The co-pilot received first aid from a passenger doctor who was on board, during which the doctor reportedly mentioned the possibility of a heart condition. According to the report, in the investigation, the co-pilot stated, “I don’t remember when I lost consciousness. I remember flying, and at some point, I was receiving medical attention from cabin crew and a doctor.”
He also added that the loss of consciousness was so sudden that he couldn’t inform other crew members about his condition. The cockpit voice recording from that time reportedly captured strange noises consistent with an acute health emergency.
Despite the absence of a pilot, the aircraft continued to fly stably thanks to its active autopilot function. However, due to the emergency situation, the captain decided to divert the plane to Madrid Airport, the nearest entry point.
The co-pilot was later diagnosed with a seizure disorder after being transported to the hospital.
Lufthansa informed the German news agency dpa that they were aware of the incident and had also conducted an investigation through their flight safety department.