Pilot of Plane with 271 Passengers Dies Suddenly of Cardiac Arrest Mid Flight

A commercial jet carrying 271 passengers had to make an emergency landing after the pilot passed away unexpectedly midflight. On Sunday evening, in the middle of a flight, Captain Ivan Andaur, the pilot of Flight LA505, which was traveling from Miami, Florida to Santiago, Chile, experienced a sudden heart arrest.

Three hours into the journey, at a cruising altitude of 37,000 feet, Captain Ivan Andaur started to feel queasy. He later slumped in the lavatory after exiting the LATAM Boeing 787 Dreamliner’s cockpit to use it. The remaining flight crew was compelled to land in Panama for the emergency.

“The remaining flight crew, comprised of a relief captain and a first officer, elected to make an emergency diversion to Panama City’s Tocumen International Airport (PTY),” according to SimpleFlying.com.

“The aircraft landed safely on Panama City’s runway 03L about 28 minutes later.”

“Two co-pilots took control of the aircraft and landed at Tocumen International Airport, where paramedics entered the airplane and provided first aid to Andaur but he was pronounced dead,” reports

Capt. Andaur appeared to be experiencing a cardiac emergency, and a nurse on board the aircraft apparently tried to assist him. She claims, however, that she lacked the necessary medical supplies to perform cardiac resuscitation on the captain.

“Unfortunately, we did not have the necessary or sufficient supplies to perform a good resuscitation,” the nurse identified as Isadora on social media said.

“There LATAM needs to improve the issue of protocol in case of health and medical emergencies like this where lives can be saved but the resources are needed.”

In a statement, LATAM Airlines commented that “flight LA505 yesterday, which was on the Miami-Santiago route, had to land at the Tocumen International Airport in Panama due to a medical emergency for one of the three members of the command crew.

“When the plane landed, emergency services provided life-saving help, but the pilot sadly passed away.”

After being stranded in Panama City for nearly six hours, 271 passengers were reportedly booked hotels and new flights to Chile’s capital city.