Turkish Airlines pilot had an epileptic fit just before departure at Nicosia.
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Turkish Airlines pilot had an epileptic fit just before departure at Nicosia.
According to Turkish newspapers a Turkish Airline captain had an epileptic fit on board just before departing for Istanbul at the Ercan Airport, Northern Cyprus.
EUROPE - Turkish pilot has epileptic seizure on plane
EUROPE - Turkish pilot has epileptic seizure on plane
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Ah yes " I am fine, I will complete the mission" prevails. . . excellent CRM, excellent Turkish military training/mindset.
Glad to see standards are being maintained.
Glad to see standards are being maintained.
Last edited by captplaystation; 8th Aug 2013 at 12:47.
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In the interests of accuracy, there isn't any actual evidence in the linked article that says it was actually an "epileptic fit" - merely a phrase used without anything to back it up. However, whatever the actual cause, I would hope that a professional pilot who had passed out for no obvious reason prior to a flight would take himself off the rota until he'd had a check-up ... 
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Depends - some forms of epilepsy are lifelong, some show up early in life, then seemingly disappear. Others can be late-onset. If the report is true and this pilot has the latter form, then my heart goes out to them - because it could be a career-ender.
(I was told this by my cousin, who suffered from a type that arises in childhood, but in her case was treated at the time and she has not suffered an episode since adolescence...)
(I was told this by my cousin, who suffered from a type that arises in childhood, but in her case was treated at the time and she has not suffered an episode since adolescence...)
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DB is correct, some forms of epilepsy do not appear until later in life. Some epileptiform fits are a sign of an underlying pathology which has not previously revealed itself.
Was it a fit or was it a faint? If it was a faint did he lose consciousness? Is this another Rubbish article???
If it was a fit, it was presumably his first, and it would be very unusual to have two in quick succession so I suspect a storm in a teacup. However fits in later life are suggestive of intracranial tumours. After fits people often act irrationally - some think they can fly a plane
If it was a fit, it was presumably his first, and it would be very unusual to have two in quick succession so I suspect a storm in a teacup. However fits in later life are suggestive of intracranial tumours. After fits people often act irrationally - some think they can fly a plane
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Not a medical person, but learned a lot from a relative's illness:
If the event was a seizure (evidently not clear from the report) -- not only can epilepsy first occur at any stage of life, as already noted ...
But also, there are quite a lot of causes that can lead to seizures that look like epilepsy. Diagnosis can be very difficult (and often, the cause of seizure is not determined). It is diagnostically useful to see an EEG during the seizure (or failing that, as soon as possible afterward); obviously this is often not available.
If the event was a seizure (evidently not clear from the report) -- not only can epilepsy first occur at any stage of life, as already noted ...
But also, there are quite a lot of causes that can lead to seizures that look like epilepsy. Diagnosis can be very difficult (and often, the cause of seizure is not determined). It is diagnostically useful to see an EEG during the seizure (or failing that, as soon as possible afterward); obviously this is often not available.
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Turkish Airlines Press Release
According to the Turkish press, the public relations department of the Turkish Airlines released the following note:
"The Captain had his medical check at a hospital authorised by the [General Directorate of ] Civil Aviation in November 2012, and certified fit to fly. None of the previous medical checks indicated a symptom associated with epilepsy. The investigation has been going on and we cannot make any further comments during that process on the personal medical condition of our Captain."
Couldn't find the original text, but it is quite common in Turkish aviation industry to pass the message to selected members of the press, in stead of releasing information to public. The comments of the press indicate that some captains are required to get their medical checks every six month while other are required to do so every year. No mention of why the difference.
Nothing released by the Civil Aviation authority yet.
As usual they would let it pass and forgotten by and by...
"The Captain had his medical check at a hospital authorised by the [General Directorate of ] Civil Aviation in November 2012, and certified fit to fly. None of the previous medical checks indicated a symptom associated with epilepsy. The investigation has been going on and we cannot make any further comments during that process on the personal medical condition of our Captain."
Couldn't find the original text, but it is quite common in Turkish aviation industry to pass the message to selected members of the press, in stead of releasing information to public. The comments of the press indicate that some captains are required to get their medical checks every six month while other are required to do so every year. No mention of why the difference.
Nothing released by the Civil Aviation authority yet.
As usual they would let it pass and forgotten by and by...
