A 10-year NTSB database search revealed 12 accidents likely caused by a pilot's heart attack, with 8 of these involving pilots flying solo.
A significant number of these incidents involved pilots who were aware of serious, disqualifying cardiac conditions but concealed them from the FAA or flew without valid medical certification.
The article notes only one rare instance in this decade where non-pilot passengers successfully landed an aircraft after pilot incapacitation, emphasizing the severity of such events.
At a recent dinner gathering, a few days after the wonderfully well-omened US Airways ditching in the Hudson, when several guests had been grilling me about bird strikes and ditching procedures, someone commented that her worst nightmare was being in an airplane when the pilot had a heart attack.
“How often,” another guest asked me, “does that happen?”
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Peter Garrison taught himself to use a slide rule and tin snips, built an airplane in his backyard, and flew it to Japan. He began contributing to FLYING in 1968, and he continues to share his columns, ""Technicalities"" and ""Aftermath,"" with FLYING readers.
