A man described as a veteran British Airways pilot collapsed and died just before he was scheduled to captain an international flight.
The Sun reported Saturday that the pilot was stricken in his hotel room in Cairo, Egypt, but made his way to the lobby before collapsing.
Bystanders reportedly attempted CPR, to no avail.
The man was part of a crew preparing to fly a passenger jet from Cairo to London. He had “suffered from ill health in recent months,” according to the report.
The flight was rescheduled, but “passengers were oblivious to the reason behind their wait.”
The incident has “rocked [British Airways],” a source told the Sun. “It doesn’t bear imagining if he had suffered a heart attack at 30,000 ft.”
A statement from British Airways said, “Our thoughts are with our colleagues’ friends and family at this very sad time,” according to the Sun.
A number of similar medical episodes have affected flight crew members on both sides of the Atlantic.
A United Airlines flight from Guatemala City to Chicago had to divert to Houston on Saturday due to an onboard medical emergency. The emergency reportedly involved a crew member.
An American Airlines pilot suffered a medical emergency shortly after takeoff from Chicago’s O’Hare Airport in November. The flight returned to Chicago and the captain was transported to a hospital, but he later died.
Another American Airlines pilot, Bob Snow, suffered a heart attack last April, minutes after landing a jet with 200 passengers at the Dallas-Fort Worth Airport.
Snow told Fox News’ Tucker Carlson he believed his cardiac episode was caused by the COVID-19 vaccine, which was mandated throughout the airline industry.
He criticized the Federal Aviation Administration, saying the agency “basically abrogated their responsibility to look after our safety by forcing us to undergo this vaccination program.”
A number of medical professionals shared news of the most recent event involving the British Airways pilot on social media and commented on the apparent frequency of such incidents. Some expressed concern that such an episode may soon lead to a major crash.
“I fear a major airline crash is now only a matter of time,” William Makis wrote.
Veteran British Airways pilot collapses and dies of a heart attack shortly before he was due to captain a packed Airbus A321 from Cairo to London – 2nd such incident this month
I fear a major airline crash is now only a matter of time. #Diedsuddenlyhttps://t.co/sfnW0WijHO
— William Makis MD (@MakisMD) March 12, 2023
“Pilots dropping like flies!” another wrote. “How many does it take.”
Pilots dropping like flies! How many does it take. Veteran British Airways pilot collapses and dies shortly before he was due to captain packed passenger jet | The Sun https://t.co/r5qrIjzQk6
— Dr David Cartland (@CartlandDavid) March 11, 2023
Paul Alexander wrote, “A passenger plane loaded will fall shortly from the sky due to vaccine induced myocarditis causing cardiac arrest. Heart scarred by silent myocarditis due to mRNA technology.”
https://t.co/w4FCl2oMM1
British Airways Pilot dies of heart attack just before flying loaded plane; again, a passenger plane loaded will fall shortly from the sky due to vaccine induced myocarditis causing cardiac arrest
Heart scarred by silent myocarditis due to mRNA technology… https://t.co/wsC9Oz99kV— Paul Alexander, PhD (@PAlexanderPhD) March 15, 2023
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention maintains that “COVID-19 vaccines are safe and effective” and recommends them for everyone 6 months old and up.
The CDC acknowledges that some “rare” adverse side effects have occurred, including anaphylaxis, blood clots, myocarditis and pericarditis (inflammation of tissue in and around the heart), and Guillain-Barre Syndrome (a nervous system disorder than can cause weakness or paralysis).
It concludes, however, that the “benefits of vaccination outweigh the risks.”
