A co-pilot had to relinquish controls of a passenger plane after suffering an anxiety attack while on approach to Glasgow Airport.
An Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) report reveal how the airman had to leave the cockpit of the flight, which was about to land at the major airport.
The commander, air traffic control and cabin crew were able safely land the jet – carrying 148 passengers and six crew from London Stanstead – with just one pilot.
The incident took place at around 6.30pm on September 30 last year, but the report has only now been publicly released.
It details out how the airman, who had around 686 hours of flight experience, was left feeling anxious and had not slept well after an incident at Palma de Mallorca the previous day.
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The report states: “On September 29, 2018, the day before the incident flight, the commander and co-pilot had flown together from Glasgow to Palma de Mallorca and back.
“The co-pilot was pilot flying for the Glasgow to Palma de Mallorca sector.
“During the approach to Palma de Mallorca, at approximately 30 ft, a change in the wind displaced the aircraft towards the runway edge.
“The commander took control during the flare and executed a go-around.”
It continued: “On September 30, 2018, the same commander and co-pilot flew together from Glasgow to Stansted with the commander as pilot flying.
“The return flight to Glasgow proceeded normally with the co-pilot as pilot flying.
“Over the course of this flight the co-pilot began to suffer from anxiety. During the approach, the commander mentioned windshear.
“Immediately after this, the co-pilot felt unable to continue to operate the aircraft and left the cockpit.”
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The commanding pilot noted that his co-pilot seemed “fine” following the go-around at Palma, and nothing led him to believe there could later be an issue.
During the flight to Glasgow the aviator seemed “annoyed with himself” and “subdued”, but again the commander felt there was no cause for concern.
In his own comments, the co-pilot details how the previous night he was continuously thinking about the Palma go-around, adding he “slept for approximately four hours.”
He added that he “was aware of the procedures for reporting sick or fatigued but as his report time was not early in the morning, he felt well enough to fly.”
But during the flight he was “over-thinking” the need for a good approach – and “eventually, his emotions and associated physical symptoms overwhelmed him”.
The AAIB report concluded that the incident could have been avoided if the co-pilot reported unfit for duty, if there was more effective communication between the co-pilot and commander, and if the co-pilot had made use of support from official assistance programmes available to him.
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