Exclusive: EasyJet flight from Luton to Morocco is forced to make emergency landing in Faro after captain mysteriously dislocates his shoulder in the cockpit
- The aircraft’s captain dislocated his shoulder while on the flight deck of the jet
- His first officer was forced to declare an emergency and land in Faro airport
- The aircraft was flying between Luton and Morocco when it diverted to Faro
An easyJet holiday flight had to make an emergency landing after a bizarre cockpit accident that left the passenger jet‘s captain with a dislocated shoulder.
The senior officer was in so much pain he was unable to continue flying forcing the plane to divert to the nearest airport.
The First Officer on the flight from Luton to Morocco landed the plane safely after it headed to Faro in Portugal.
The injured captain was met by paramedics and taken to hospital for treatment.
The easyJet aircraft was forced to divert while flying between Luton and Morocco on April 10 after the captain dislocated his shoulder in the cockpit
EasyJet put up the passengers in a hotel after the jet was forced to divert to Faro airport
Flight data shows that on April 10, the Airbus A320 went into a sudden descent at over 5,000ft per minute once the request to land had been made to air traffic controllers.
Passengers on the flight to Agadir in Morocco were told they were diverting due to an on-board emergency.
They were two hours into the three-and-a-half-hour flight from Luton airport when they were informed.
An airline source said they were not told the captain was no longer able to perform his duties and assist in flying the jet.
A spokesman for easyJet said the nature of the injury could not be revealed due to medical confidentiality.
But a source at Faro airport said the easyJet captain had suffered a dislocated shoulder.
It is not known how the injury occurred while he was seated in the cockpit.
The nature of the injury- when flight crew are seated for almost the entire flight- has left other pilots baffled.
‘I have never heard of a captain dislocating a shoulder during a flight, ‘ said a pilot with a major airline.
‘Was he doing some gymnastics or exercise? It is just bizarre.’
Passengers on the flight were taken to a hotel for an overnight stay and continued on their journey the following morning.
In the call to air traffic controllers the co-pilot had said the captain had become ‘incapacitated’ and requested permission to land.
The emergency was declared when flight EY-2213 was about 60 miles from Faro airport in Portugal. The Airbus landed 18 minutes after the distress call.
A spokesman for easyJet said: ‘EasyJet can confirm that flight EZY2213 from Luton to Agadir on 10 April diverted to Faro due to the Captain requiring medical assistance. The First Officer landed the aircraft in line with standard operating procedures and the Captain was met by paramedics on arrival.
‘Unfortunately, the diversion meant the crew reached their maximum legal operating hours and so the flight was delayed overnight and departed the following day. easyJet did everything possible to minimise the disruption for our passengers, providing hotel rooms and meals where required.
‘The safety and wellbeing of our passengers and crew is always easyJet’s highest priority. Whilst this was outside of our control, we would like to apologise to customers for the inconvenience caused and thank them for their patience and understanding.’
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