Pilot thought instructor who died in-flight was 'just pretending'

A flying instructor died in-flight in the U.K. after suffering a cardiac arrest, but his co-pilot thought he was fooling around and only realized after landing on the runway with the man slumped on his shoulder.

A flying instructor died in-flight after suffering a cardiac arrest, but his co-pilot thought he was fooling around and only realized after landing on the runway with the man slumped on his shoulder.

According to a newly published safety report on the incident, the pilot thought the instructor was pretending to be asleep as the pair flew a circuit above near Blackpool Airport in Lancashire, England, on June 29, 2022.

The qualified pilot had asked the instructor to accompany him aboard the four-person Piper PA-28 for safety reasons during windy conditions, according to the U.K.'s Air Accidents Investigation Branch report.

Prior to takeoff, the pair chatted normally while the pilot taxied the craft out to the runway, the pilot told the AAIB. He said that the instructor's last words were, "Looks good, there is nothing behind you."

Shortly after takeoff, the instructor's head rolled back. As the two pilots knew each other well, the co-pilot thought his companion was "just pretending to take a nap" while he completed the circuit, the report said. When the plane turned around, the instructor slumped over so that his head rested on the co-pilot's shoulder, but again the pilot still thought a joke was being played on him.

After landing safely with the instructor still resting on his shoulder and not responding, the pilot realized something was wrong and alerted airport emergency services who were unable to revive the instructor.

The instructor, who had close to 9,000 hours of flying experience, was said to be in good spirits before his final flight.