A 37-year-old Air India pilot died of cardiac arrest at Delhi's Indira Gandhi International (IGI) airport on Thursday. The emergency took place at the Air India office's Level 3, where captain Himanil Kumar was administered CPR by fellow staff. He was later rushed to a hospital, but could not survive.
"At about 11.35 hrs on 16.11.23 Air India Airlines Commander Himanil Kumar age about 37 years felt by cardio arrest at level 3 Air India office," read the incident report.
"CPR was provided by Co-staff and immediately shifted to Medanta Medical Centre domestic arrival. Despite receiving CPR and first aid from a doctor, he remained in an unconscious condition. Later, Dr. Naveen declared him dead," the report further read.
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According to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) Himanil Kumar had underwent his medical on August, and was declared medically fit, showing no signs of fatigue.
The Air India Pilot had returned to duty after Diwali vacation.
"Captain Himanil Kumar, underwent his medical on 23rd August, 2023 and was declared fit, with his medical validity until 30th Aug'24. Further, there is no fatigue-related issue w.r.t flying duties. The pilot was undergoing his B777 full type transition, ground technical course from 03rd Oct, 2023, converting from A320 type of aircraft," said official sources, as reported by ANI.
This is the third such incident where a young pilot has lost his life due to a cardiac arrest.
An IndiGo pilot while preparing to board a flight to Pune collapsed at the boarding gate of a Nagpur Airport. He too could not survive despite being given first aid and taken to a hospital.
In the same month, an ex-SpiceJet captain, who later joined Qatar Airways, passed away while travelling as a passenger from Delhi to Doha.