Lufthansa flight from Frankfurt to Spain flies without a pilot for 10 minutes: Report

A flight of German carrier Lufthansa from Frankfurt to Spain went without a pilot for 10 minutes due to a fainting incident in the cockpit last year, a report suggested.

According to a report by Deutsche Presse-Agentur, the co-pilot of the flight fainted while he was alone in the cockpit.

During the flight from Frankfurt to Seville, Spain, on 17 February 2024, the co-pilot of an Airbus A321 fainted while the captain was in the restroom, dpa reported, referring to a report by the Spanish accident investigation authority CIAIAC.

The aircraft, which was carrying 199 passengers and six crew members, flew for around 10 minutes without a pilot in command of the plane, according to the report.

Lufthansa told Deutsche Presse-Agentur that it was aware of the investigation report and that its own flight safety department had also conducted an investigation. The company is yet to disclose the results of its internal investigation.

How did the Lufthansa plane fly without a pilot for 10 minutes?

Although the unconscious co-pilot apparently operated controls unintentionally, the aircraft was able to continue flying in a stable manner thanks to the active autopilot. 

During the period that the pilot was unconscious, the voice recorder recorded strange noises in the cockpit that were consistent with an acute health emergency, dpa reported.

The captain initially tried entering the regular door opening code, which triggers a buzzer in the cockpit so that the co-pilot can open the door. He did so five times without being able to enter the cockpit. A stewardess tried to contact the co-pilot using the onboard telephone.

Finally, the captain typed in an emergency code that would have allowed him to open the door on his own. However, shortly before the door would have opened automatically, the co-pilot opened it from the inside despite being ill.

The flight made an unplanned landing in Madrid after the captain regained control of the plane. The ill co-pilot was taken to a hospital in the Spanish capital.