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| Date: | Tuesday 13 February 1996 |
| Time: | c. 15:25 LT |
| Type: |  Boeing 747-436 |
| Owner/operator: | British Asia Airways |
| Registration: | G-BNLZ |
| MSN: | 27091/964 |
| Year of manufacture: | 1993 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 421 |
| Other fatalities: | 0 |
| Aircraft damage: | None |
| Category: | Incident |
| Location: | over Atlantic Ocean -
 Atlantic Ocean
|
| Phase: | En route |
| Nature: | Passenger - Scheduled |
| Departure airport: | London-Heathrow Airport (LHR/EGLL) |
| Miami International Airport, FL (MIA/KMIA) | |
| Investigating agency: | AAIB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
The aircraft, with a 'heavy' crew (the commander with two first officers) on board, departed from
London Heathrow at 1239 hrs on a scheduled flight to Miami. Shortly after reaching cruise altitude
the first officer, seated in the right hand seat, complained of an acute pain above his right eye. He
believed that this pain was due to a sinus problem and took a couple of 'paracetamol' tablets for pain
relief. He remained at the controls but was monitored by the commander and the other relief pilot.
The medication provided some relief but approximately two hours later, during a conversation with
the commander, the first officer failed to respond to a question asked of him.
Almost immediately he began to 'fit' and became unconscious, with his right leg stiffened so as to
apply right rudder. The autopilot,which remained engaged, countered the yaw by applying aileron.
Although the resulting sideslip was noticed by the cabin crew, the passengers apparently did not
notice the event. The commander attempted to move the first officer's seat rearwards but
encountered difficulty because of the pressure of the first officer's leg locked between the seat and
the rudder pedals.
The relief pilot and two members of the cabin crew were summoned to the flight deck to assist and a
doctor, who was known to be seated on the upper deck, was also requested to attend. With his seat
now to the rear of its travel a cabin crew member introduced a plastic 'airway 'into the first officer's
mouth to aid his breathing. With some difficulty the first officer was removed from the seat and
transferred to the bunk area where, after approximately 45 minutes, he recovered.
On the doctor's advice, the commander declared a medical emergency with the intention of landing
at Gander which was just under two hours flying time away. The weather at Gander, Torbay, St
John’s and Halifax was very poor with freezing rain, vertical visibility less than 100 feet and nil
horizontal visibility. Gander ATC, on hearing of the emergency, advised the crew that Torbay
would be the better option as the first officer would have to be transferred from Gander to Torbay in
order to receive appropriate medical treatment.
By now the first officer had recovered with no noticeable ill effects and it was decided to
downgrade the emergency and continue to the planned destination, retaining the option of
diverting to one of the US east coast airfields should the first officer’s condition deteriorate. The
aircraft landed at Miami at 2144 hrs after being airborne for 9 hours and 5 minutes.
On landing, the first officer was attended by two paramedics and transferred to the nearby hospital.
With medical advice and the-operator’s approval, the first officer returned home as a passenger on
the following evening's flight. He subsequently received medical treatment.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5422f954ed915d137400073b/dft_avsafety_pdf_501709.pdf
https://www.jetphotos.com/photo/6794213 (Photo)
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 09-Aug-2025 22:43 | Justanormalperson | Added |
| 09-Aug-2025 22:44 | Justanormalperson | Updated [Accident report, ] |
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