An Etihad Pilot Passed Out As His Plane Approached For Landing

The pilot of an Etihad flight became unresponsive and incapacitated as he approached for landing in Abu Dhabi in November, a report released this week says.

A preliminary serious incident investigation report by the United Arab Emirates General Civil Aviation Authority said that while flying the Airbus A320-32, the pilot became incoherent and had difficulty breathing, then two minutes later became unresponsive and incapacitated.

The co-pilot informed the air traffic controller, declared an emergency, and took over control of the plane, which he landed safely. None of the 70 passengers or 6 crew members were injured.

After landing, the Airbus remained on the active runway; medical staff boarded the plane, by which time the captain had regained consciousness, and could communicate, according to the report.

Just what happened to the pilot, who has more than 12,000 hours of flying experience, is unclear. Medical examiners performed drug and alcohol tests; the results will be included in the final report.

In the preliminary report, both the "Analysis" and "Conclusions" sections simply say, "To be determined."