Passenger plane makes emergency landing after pilot suffers heart attack

A passenger plane was forced to make an emergency landing in Russia after one of its pilots suffered a heart attack.

The 150 passengers-plane was mid-air when the pilot suffered what was believed to be a cardiac arrest and later died on the way to hospital.

“The co-pilot on flight SU1546 from Moscow to Anapa was suddenly taken ill mid-flight. The captain took the decision to make an emergency landing at Rostov-on-Don, where medical staff were waiting. However, the medical staff were unable to save our colleague, and he died on the way to the hospital,” an Aeroflot spokesperson told The Independent.

RT, a local media, reported that the crew appealed for medical help onboard.

“A stewardess practically ran across the aisle. They later asked if there were any doctors onboard and said they really needed them,” a passenger told the local media.

The aircraft was en route from Moscow to the Black Sea resort of Anapa on Sunday when it made the emergency landing at Platov International Airport in Rostov-on-Don.

Aeroflot told the Russian state news agency TASS that the pilot had passed medical tests the day before the flight.

“The pilot had a clean medical history and had passed a regular compulsory medical test the day before the flight, as well as a six-monthly examination by a medical commission in the summer. Russian regulations regarding the health of civil aviation pilots are among the toughest in the world, and any question-marks over a pilot’s fitness to fly result in immediate grounding,” Aeroflot added.

The airline condoled with families and friends of the pilot.