Autopilot Saves The Day After Lufthansa First Officer Passes Out Alone In The Cockpit

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• A Lufthansa first officer lost consciousness for about 10 minutes while alone on the flight deck.
• The incident occurred on a flight from Frankfurt to Seville on Feb. 17, 2024, with 199 passengers and 6 crew members aboard.
• The plane's autopilot maintained stable flight, and the captain regained access to the cockpit after the first officer revived.

The first officer on a flight operated by German airline Lufthansa lost consciousness for about 10 minutes while the captain was away from the flight deck, leaving the plane to fly itself.

The incident occurred on Feb. 17, 2024, on a flight operating from Frankfurt to Seville, Spain.

According to Spanish authorities, there were 199 passengers and 6 crewmembers aboard the Airbus A321.

The official incident report said the captain had left the cockpit for "physiological reasons" and the first officer fainted soon after. The plane's autopilot system kept the aircraft in stable flight throughout the incident, although the unconscious first officer did make some inputs to the controls.

The captain was unable to reenter the cockpit using normal procedures and attempted to use emergency procedures for access. The first officer ultimately regained consciousness and was able to admit the captain.

According to the report, Lufthansa had recently removed a policy that required a second crewmember to enter the cockpit whenever one of the pilots left, and authorities urged airlines to reconsider such changes.

The copilot received medical attention from a doctor onboard, and the flight diverted to Madrid, where he received further treatment at a hospital.

The copilot apparently had a previously undetected neurological condition, which caused the episode.

Lufthansa acknowledged the incident in a statement to USA TODAY.

"We are aware of the report issued by the Spanish authorities. Lufthansa has provided intensive and comprehensive support to the authorities in their work. In addition, Lufthansa's flight safety department has conducted its own extensive investigation," the statement said. "We ask for your understanding that we cannot comment further on the report at this time."

Zach Wichter is a travel reporter and writes the Cruising Altitude column for USA TODAY. He is based in New York and you can reach him at zwichter@usatoday.com.