Two Cathay Pacific captains
'suffer sudden loss of vision' in mid-air medical emergencies on separate
flights just weeks apart
·
Two Cathay Pacific captains suffered loss of
vision on separate flights this year
·
This has sparked an investigation by Hong
Kong’s aviation incident authority
·
Cathay Pacific said the airline would be
cooperating with the investigations fully
Two Cathay Pacific airline captains suffered
loss of eyesight on separate flights this year, sparking an investigation by
Hong Kong’s aviation incident authority.
The captain on flight CX583, carrying 348
passengers and 16 crew between Sapporo and Hong Kong, suffered a sudden loss of
vision on January 26.
This lasted for around half an hour and the
co-pilot had to take control of the Boeing 777 west of Taiwan, according to a
preliminary report by the country’s Air Accident Investigation Authority.
On
February 21, another captain, of the CX170 flight from Perth, Australia,
to Hong Kong, complained he felt out of breath and that his vision was impaired
before forcing his first officer to take command.
The Airbus A350, carrying 270 passengers and
13 crew members, was flying over Manila at the time.
The captain was given oxygen and crew members
sought help from a passenger with a medical profession as well as the company
doctor in Hong Kong.
His condition was stabilised.
Both incidences resulted in a Pan-Pan call
being made by the co-pilots before safely arriving in their destinations, local
media reports.
This is an international signal declaring
an urgent situation on board an aircraft which does not pose immediate
danger.
It requires being investigating by
the air navigation service provider, which in these two cases is Hong
Kong’s Civil Aviation Department.
The authority, which declared both ‘flight
crew incapacitation’ events as ‘serious incidents’, said an investigation team
was trying to determine the cause.
‘The [authority] will continue to collect and
study all relevant information in order to determine the circumstances and
causes of the serious incidents,’ a spokesman said.
‘More in-depth investigation and analysis
have to be conducted before any conclusion can be drawn.’
A Cathay Pacific spokeswoman told The Star
Online: ‘Safety is in the consideration of everything we do and in each case,
the operating crew acted in accordance with Cathay Pacific’s standard operating
procedures regarding pilot incapacitation.’
She added that the airline would be
cooperating with the investigations fully.
Q: What
chemicals, substances, radiation or mechanism which causes the pilots suddenly
has vision loss during flight? This needs to be tackled urgently.
..
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