Czech pilot who died at controls likely had undetected heart problem

A Czech accident investigation into a turboprop flight on which a chief pilot died in mid-flight with the copilot being forced to take over said death was probably caused by a heart failure from a previously undiscovered weakness.

The incident took place mid-February on a Czech Airlines (ČSA) flight from Warsaw to Prague with the co-pilot reacting after he felt the ATR 42-500 starting to speed up and an uneven sound from the motor.  He took tried to raise the chief pilot but with no success, took control of the aircraft and made an emergency landing at Prague without injury to the 46 passengers on board.

The accident report released Wednesday said that no signs of any health problems had been found with the 54-year-old chief pilot, although he was slightly overweight, when his previous medical check-up took place at the start of November 2011.

“Death was caused by a serious but hidden default in the cardiovascular system the cause of which is at the current time unclear and which were not found by preventive examinations,” the report from the Institute for the Expert Investigation of the Cause of Aviation Accidents (ÚZPLN) said in its report. It added that the crew reacted calmly in accordance with flight regulations and “performed in a quality manner.”  No problems with the aircraft were found.at