A pilot for LATAM Airlines died after a medical emergency on a flight from Miami to Santiago
- A pilot suffered a medical emergency on a flight from Miami to Santiago, Chile, on Monday.
- LATAM airlines told Insider that the flight was diverted to Panama City amid the emergency.
A pilot for a Chilean airline company suffered a medical emergency during a flight from Miami, Florida, to Santiago, Chile, on Monday, and died after the plane was forced to make an emergency stop in Panama.
The LATAM Airlines pilot, who was not named by the airline, had served for more than 25 years, the airline told Insider in a statement. He was part of a three person crew commanding the aircraft.
After an emergency stop in Panama, the pilot received further medical help but died, the airline told Insider.
"LATAM Group is deeply saddened by this event and takes this opportunity to express our most sincere condolences to the family of our employee," the airline told Insider on Thursday.
Flight data from FlightAware showed that the Monday flight, which typically takes eight hours, rapidly descended from over 30,000 feet in the air after less than three hours in the air.
The flight landed in Panama City during the emergency stop on Monday and passengers weren't able to board a new flight from Panama City to Santiago till Thursday, the airline told Insider.
It's the latest travel disaster amid a summer of nightmarish incidents for crews and passengers. In July, a Delta flight which languished for hours on a Las Vegas tarmac in triple-digit heat left passengers requiring medical care.