The Taiwan Transportation Safety Board (TTSB) yesterday said that it is investigating the case of a Tigerair Taiwan copilot becoming incapacitated during a flight returning from Japan.
The incident was revealed after a Vietnam Airlines pilot, who is an Internet celebrity identifying himself as “Crazy James,” talked about it on his YouTube channel.
He said that he heard on the radio that the captain of a Tigerair Taiwan flight returning from Japan’s New Chitose Airport on Monday called out “Pan-Pan” to air traffic controllers as soon as the aircraft landed at the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport.
Photo courtesy of Tigerair Taiwan
“Pan-Pan” is an international standard urgency signal used to declare that someone aboard an aircraft needs help, and that the situation is urgent, but does not pose an immediate danger to anyone’s life or to the vessel itself.
An ambulance arrived at the tarmac to carry away the copilot, whose life was in danger, the Internet celebrity said, adding that it was the first time in his 27-year career as a pilot that he heard “Pan-Pan” called out over the radio.
Tigerair Taiwan said in a statement that the copilot of the IT237 flight was physically unwell when the aircraft was taxiing to the jet bridge.
The captain then immediately contacted control tower personnel and requested for medical assistance, it said.
Accompanied by healthcare workers, the copilot got on an ambulance to undergo an examination at the hospital, the airline said, adding that he checked out of the hospital the next day.
“We have voluntarily reported the incident to the Civil Aeronautics Administration [CAA], and the incident is being investigated by the TTSB. We will cooperate with investigators regarding the incident,” the airline said.
TTSB executive director Lin Pei-da (林沛達) said that the board met with CAA officials and airline representatives to determine how the investigation should proceed.
“We will investigate the reasons leading to the copilot’s incapacitation and whether the airline handled the emergency situation following standardized operating procedures,” Lin said. “Investigation findings will be released to the public once it is completed.”
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