AAIB investigation to Piper PA-28-161, G-BORL

Instructor suffered a fatal heart attack inflight, Blackpool Airport, 29 June 2022.

Summary:

A flying instructor, who held a Class 1 Medical, died inflight whilst flying with a qualified pilot. The pilot was able to land the aircraft safely. A post-mortem concluded that the instructor died from acute cardiac failure. The CAA intends to review the circumstance of this incident to determine if anything can be learnt and if any changes should be made to the current guidance.

The circumstances surrounding the occurrence did not fall within the definitions of an accident or serious incident as defined in ICAO Annex 13, however, the Chief Inspector, in exercise of his powers under the Civil Aviation (Investigation of Air Accidents and Incidents) Regulations 2018, initiated an investigation, treating the occurrence as an incident.

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Piper PA-28-161, G-BORL 02-23

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Updates to this page

Published 9 February 2023