This is your pilot... I can’t land plane, I’m having a panic attack

A CO-PILOT had to leave the cockpit after suffering from an anxiety attack on approach to a Scottish airport, a report has revealed.

The incident happened as the aircraft carrying 148 passengers began to land at Glasgow Airport in September last year.

The flight’s captain, with the help of air traffic control, took over the landing, the Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) said.

An ambulance met the Airbus A319 after it managed to land safely in Glasgow. Neither of the flight’s pilots were named in the report.

Investigators found the co-pilot was affected by an aborted landing in Majorca the previous day, which he had found ‘frightening’.

He had to abandon his landing after ‘wind displaced the aircraft’ on approach to Majorca, forcing the captain to pull up, go around and attempt to land again.

According to the report, the easyJet flight from London Stansted to Glasgow on September 30 had ‘proceeded normally with the co-pilot as pilot flying’ but that ‘over the course of this flight the co-pilot began to suffer anxiety’.

The report said: ‘The co-pilot reported that the wind change and go-around at Palma de Mallorca was the first time he had experienced this in the aircraft and he found it frightening. He did not feel able to make control inputs.

‘The commander considered that the co-pilot seemed “fine” during the debrief after the goaround and nothing that the copilot said alerted the commander that there could be an issue.’

Ahead of the flight to Glasgow, the report found that the co-pilot was feeling ‘overwhelmed’ by his ‘emotions’ ahead of the landing.

It also found the co-pilot had only managed to get four hours sleep before flying the aircraft. However, it said he felt OK to go ahead with the flight.

The report added: ‘The co-pilot felt increasingly nervous during the flight. Eventually, his emotions and associated physical symptoms overwhelmed him.’

After support from the airline and medical professionals, he was passed fit to return to flying. An easyJet spokesman said: ‘The safety of those on board was not compromised at any time. We always take steps to ensure that our pilots are fully fit to operate.’

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