Lufthansa airbus A321 diverts to Madrid after pilot falls sick

A Lufthansa A321 destined for Seville (SCQ), Spain, diverted to Madrid (MAD) after the first officer onboard the aircraft fell ill, Azernews reports, citing foreign media. The flight was operating as Lufthansa LH1140 from Frankfurt (FRA) to SCQ at the time of the diversion.

The flight departed FRA at 9:40 am; flights along this route usually take anywhere between two hours and 20 minutes and two hours and 45 minutes. While cruising at 35,000 ft above the city of Toledo, about 30 nautical miles southeast of Madrid, the aircraft reported to air traffic control that the first officer had fallen ill, requesting diversion to MAD.

Emergency descent

The aircraft turned left and began a descent of -2,500 ft per minute, arriving at MAD’s runway 32L around 20 minutes later. The aircraft was met by paramedics shortly after 11:00 am. After staying on the ground for five hours, the flight began to continue to SVQ, arriving at 5:18 pm after a 45-minute flight.

The condition of the first officer, or the probable cause of the ailment, is currently unclear. The aircraft involved in the flight was a fifteen-year-old A321 registered D-AISO. The aircraft was delivered to the airline in 2008 and spent two years in storage during the COVID-19 pandemic. The same aircraft had completed the route two days earlier.

Lufthansa did not respond to inquiries from Simple Flying about the incident.