An Air Transat captain became incapacitated midflight from a "uncontrollable nosebleed," and an off-duty pilot stepped in to save the day.
When he was asked to help with the unusual incident, the off-duty pilot—an Air Transat captain himself—was flying from Toronto Pearson Airport (YYZ) to the Dominican Republic for a family vacation.
On November 22, 2023, Air Transat informed the People that Flight TS186, carrying 299 passengers, was en route to Punta Cana International Airport (PUJ) when the captain became "unable to continue his duties" due to a nosebleed.
The aircraft made a safe landing at its destination after the off-duty pilot proved to be "fit and able" to take over the controls.
It is important to note that our pilots are capable of operating our aircraft without assistance and have received specialized training to handle circumstances like this one. Therefore, there was zero risk to anyone on this flight, and if the backup pilot hadn't been on board, things would have continued as they did, the airline said in a statement to the People.
Pilots who are not on duty frequently travel on airline-operated aircraft.
About three hours into the flight, one of the flight crew members became incapacitated. The incapacitated flight crew member was replaced by a company-qualified passenger pilot, and the aircraft proceeded to its intended destination without any further incidents, according to the Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB)
Though a thorough investigation was deemed unnecessary by the TSB, the incident will be examined further for "possible future safety analysis."
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