Passenger Plane Makes Urgent Landing After Pilot Suffers Chest Pains and Requests Defibrillator in Cockpit: Reports

Mar. 15, 2025

A Qantas plane at Sydney’s Kingsford Smith Airport in 2013.Photo:Getty

Getty

A Qantas plane traveling from Brisbane to Sydney in Australia reportedly had to make an urgent landing on Monday, March 10, after its captain began to experience chest pains.

According toThe Sydney Morning Herald,a priority landing at Sydney Airport was requested for the plane, which was carrying 127 passengers and six crew and was several hundred kilometers north of Sydney when the pilot began to feel the discomfort.

The captain reportedly asked the flight’s customer service manager to use a defibrillator on him. While the defibrillator’s pads were put on the pilot in the cockpit, the equipment ended up not being used, according to the outlet.

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A Qantas Airbus A330-202 plane.Getty

PEOPLE has reached out to Qantas for comment.

The first officer, who was the pilot flying the aircraft while the captain was being attended to, then alerted air traffic controllers of the medical emergency and requested an expedited landing of the Boeing 737-800.

He declared a “medical PAN” to air traffic control, which stands for “possible assistance needed," according toTheSydney Morning Herald.

A stock image of a pilot in a plane cockpit.Getty

According tonews.com.au, flight tracking revealed that the plane did two loops inland of Newcastle before landing.

According to aviation companyFlightAware, the aircraft was 21 minutes late when it landed at 9:01 am in Sydney after leaving Brisbane at 6:22 am.

The Sydney Morning Heraldreported that the captain was able to taxi the plane to a terminal gate shortly after landing at Sydney Airport around 9 a.m. local time. According to the outlet, it is not possible to taxi aircraft from the first officer’s seat.

A Qantas spokesperson told NewsWire, per news.com.au, “One of our pilots experienced chest pains during a flight from Brisbane to Sydney on Monday.”

source: people.com