New details have emerged surrounding a plane carrying 200 people that was forced to fly without a pilot.
A new reports has revealed details regarding the incident, which occurred in February 2024 on a routine Lufthansa flight from Frankfurt, Germany to Seville, Spain aboard an Airbus A321.
But the journey took a dramatic turn when, with just about 30 minutes before landing, the aircraft had no one at the controls.
The full details were released on Thursday (May 15) in a report by Spanish investigators.
According to Busines insider, the captain of the flight left the cockpit to use the restroom with around half an hour of flying time remaining.
At the time, everything seemed normal. “During his interview about the incident, he told investigators when he left the cockpit, the first officer of the plane seemed fine,” the report reads.
But just eight minutes later, when the captain returned, he found himself locked out.
Despite repeatedly entering the correct security door code and having a flight attendant call the cockpit over the intercom, there was no answer. Even the emergency access code failed — its timer had already run out.What followed was a chilling 10 minutes with no pilot at the controls.Eventually, the first officer, a 38-year-old man whose identity has not been released, managed to unlock the door.
He later told authorities he had “suddenly lost consciousness.”
When the captain finally laid eyes on him, the scene was grim. He described the first officer as “pale, sweating and moving strangely.”
Wasting no time, the captain diverted the flight to Madrid, where the aircraft made an emergency landing. A passenger onboard who identified as a doctor and the flight crew assisted the officer until the plane landed.
Upon arrival, the first officer was rushed to the hospital, where doctors diagnosed him with a seizure disorder — a neurological condition that had caused his “sudden and severe incapacitation.”
The shocking incident — with an aircraft effectively flying itself for a full 10 minutes — has prompted aviation authorities to reevaluate safety measures.
The Economic Times reports that the case has sparked calls for the European Union Aviation Safety Agency to reconsider existing cockpit protocols.
While modern aircraft like the Airbus A321 are designed with extensive autopilot systems, the idea of no human pilot at the controls for such a long duration is still deeply concerning.
This isn’t the only recent story of a Lufthansa flight that lost a pilot.
A Lufthansa flight from Miami to Germany was forced into an emergency landing after the pilot lost consciousness mid-flight.
Flight LH463, a Boeing 747-8, had just taken off from Miami on January 19 and was cruising along the eastern seaboard of the U.S. and Canada when things suddenly took a frightening turn.
As first reported by aviation trade outlet Aviation hearald , the pilot passed out in the cockpit—leaving the entire flight crew scrambling.
According to the report, the co-pilot immediately assumed control of the aircraft while the unconscious captain was moved to a crew lounge. Two flight attendants quickly provided first aid as the aircraft soared 30,000 feet above Nova Scotia.
As if the medical crisis wasn’t enough, worsening weather conditions made it even riskier to continue. The crew made the call to U-turn and divert the plane to Montreal, Canada.
Despite the alarming situation, the aircraft landed safely—2,414 kilometers away from its intended destination in Germany.A Lufthansa spokesperson later confirmed to The Sun that passengers were rebooked on alternative flights, adding: “The flight landed there normally and safely, and the colleague received medical care. Lufthansa regrets the inconvenience caused to the passengers. The safety of our passengers and crew members is our top priority at all times.”
