Pilot Dies After Medical Emergency on Flight From Miami to Chile

A pilot for Latam, the Chilean airline, died on Monday after struggling a well being emergency on a flight from Miami to Santiago, Chile, that compelled the airplane to make an emergency touchdown in Panama, the airline stated.

The pilot was a part of a three-member crew aboard the flight from Miami International Airport to Arturo Merino Benítez International Airport in Santiago, Latam stated in a press release on Wednesday. The airline, which is predicated in Santiago, didn’t disclose the pilot’s title or the character of the well being drawback, however stated it was “thankful for his 25 years of service” to the airline.

“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 corporate stated, including that the pilot was “distinguished by his dedication, professionalism and enthusiasm.”

According to FlightConscious, a flight-data tracker, the Latam flight, which generally takes roughly eight hours, took off from Miami at 9:41 p.m. Three hours later, the airplane, a Boeing 787, made a fast descent, dropping almost 30,000 ft in 10 minutes earlier than touchdown at Tocumen International Airport in Panama City.

The pilot died after receiving medical help upon touchdown, the airline stated. Latam stated it had adopted “all the necessary protocols” in the course of the flight to safeguard the pilot’s life.

In its assertion, the airline apologized to its passengers for the delay and stated that the flight resumed the subsequent day, touchdown in Santiago at 4 a.m. on Wednesday.

It is uncommon for a pilot to die after experiencing a medical emergency throughout a flight. In 2015, an American Airlines jetliner carrying 147 passengers made an emergency touchdown in Syracuse, N.Y., after the pilot fell in poor health and died. In 2009, a Continental Airlines flight with 247 passengers landed safely in Newark after the 60-year-old captain died of a coronary heart assault.