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Date Published: 21/05/2025

Co-pilot faints mid-flight to Seville, as plane flies on without anyone at the controls

Lufthansa flight to from Germany to Seville diverted to Madrid after cockpit incident prompts aviation safety review

A Lufthansa flight heading from Frankfurt to Seville flew for several minutes with no one at the controls after the co-pilot suddenly lost consciousness and the captain had briefly stepped away from the cockpit.

The incident took place mid-flight while the Airbus A321 was flying over Spain. According to a report from the Spanish Ministry of Transport, the 43-year-old captain had left the flight deck at 10.31am to use the forward lavatory. During his absence, the 38-year-old co-pilot suffered a seizure and became incapacitated.

When the captain attempted to return at around 10.39am, he followed the standard procedure to unlock the cockpit door but received no response. He tried again several times and even used the emergency access code, which would allow entry after a short delay unless overridden from the inside. Just before the timer ran out, the co-pilot managed to manually unlock the door.

The captain regained control of the aircraft at 10.42am and made the decision to divert to Madrid. The flight landed safely and without incident, and the co-pilot was taken to hospital for medical assessment.

An investigation by Spain’s Civil Aviation Accident and Incident Investigation Commission (CIAIAC) found that the co-pilot had suffered a neurological episode that had not been identified in previous medical checks. His medical certificate has since been suspended until the condition can be fully assessed.

The event has prompted renewed discussion around cockpit safety procedures. Although the plane’s autopilot remained engaged and no technical issues were reported, the brief period with no one actively monitoring the controls has raised concerns.

Following the Germanwings tragedy in 2015, the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) had advised airlines to assess whether they should maintain a two-person cockpit policy at all times. Some airlines adopted the practice but later dropped it, including the operator involved in this case. At present, EASA does not know how many aircraft operators require the presence of two people in the flight deck at all times.

As a result of this incident, a new safety recommendation is being issued to EASA to review current cockpit protocols and consider reinstating the two-person rule more broadly across European carriers.

Image: Pixabay/Pexels

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