Pilot faints midflight forcing emergency landing

Moments after a plane took off from the tarmac the pilot of the aircraft fainted at the controls, prompting an emergency landing.

A pilot fainted midflight forcing a packed 747 he was flying to turn around while stewards tried to revive the captain.

Lufthansa flight LH463 had just departed Miami, Florida, heading for Frankfurt in Germany on January 19.

But right after the plane took off from the tarmac the pilot fainted at the controls, flight trade magazine Aviation Herald reports.

Control of the Boeing 747-8 was given to the plane’s co-pilot who continued the plane’s path up the eastern seaboard of the US and Canada.

The captain was rushed to a crew lounge on the plane where two flight attendants provided first aid.

But they decided to make a U-turn at 30,000 feet over Nova Scotia due when they hit torrid weather a pilot down.

A Lufthansa 747 was forced to make a terrifying landing after the pilot fainted. Picture: Daniel Roland/AFP

The flight made an unscheduled landing at Montreal in Canada - more than 2414km away from where it was supposed to land.

It is currently unclear what caused the captain to faint and there have been no updates on his condition.

In a statement to The Sun, a Lufthansa spokesperson said the passengers at Montreal were rebooked on other flights.

The spokesperson said: “The flight landed there normally and safely, and the colleague received medical care.

The aircraft’s route from Miami to Frankfurt. Picture: Newsflash

“Lufthansa regrets the inconvenience caused to the passengers. The safety of our passengers and crew members is our top priority at all times.”

Fainting pilots are not unheard of, with a Jet2 captain fainting between Manchester and Madeira.

That flight, in August 2019, was forced to land early in Porto before the captain was taken to hospital on arrival.

A month later, a student pilot was forced to make an unplanned emergency landing after his instructor passed out.

Trainee Max Sylvester was in the sky in a Cessna light aircraft when he realised his debut in the sky was going terribly wrong.

Tragically, a pilot died in 2024 mid-flight on a Turkish Air plane he was flying between Seattle and Istanbul.

The Airbus 350 had departed Seattle on Tuesday evening and was on its way to Istanbul when the tragedy happened.

The 59-year-old had worked for the airline since 2007 and had passed a medical examination in March, the flag carrier said.

This article originally appeared on The Sun and was reproduced with permission