Hyderabad: In a disturbing development, an Indigo pilot, who was scheduled to fly from Nagpur to Pune on Thursday, fainted at the boarding gate and when taken to a hospital was declared brought dead. "We are saddened at the untimely demise of one of our pilots in Nagpur earlier today. He was unwell at the Nagpur airport and was rushed to the hospital where doctors declared brought dead. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family and loved ones,” the airline said in a statement.
According to the aviation watchdog, Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), the pilot had operated two flights on Wednesday in the Trivandrum-Pune-Nagpur sectors between 3 am and 7 am. The pilot’s roster shows that he had 27 hours of rest in addition to operating in numerous sectors before reporting for duty today.
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“The said pilot on Wednesday operated two sectors Trivandrum-Pune-Nagpur, which were early morning (approx between 3 am and 7 am). Thereafter had 27 hrs of rest and was scheduled for 04 sectors today with departure at 1 pm. Departure from Nagpur was to be his 1st Sector,” the airline said.
The pilot identified as Captain Manoj Subramanyam (40) fell unconscious in the security hold area of the airport around 12 noon, they said. Prima facie, he died of "cardiac arrest following a sudden unexpected loss of heart function", said KIMS-Kingsway Hospital where he was rushed.
Aejaz Shami, the spokesperson of the hospital, said their emergency team administered CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation), but he did not respond. Subramanyam was declared brought dead at the hospital. This is the second death of a pilot reported in two days in India. A Qatar Airways pilot suffered a heart attack onboard on Wednesday. The flight was diverted to Dubai after the pilot fell ill mid-air.
