Pilot collapses mid-flight in the bathroom, prompting emergency landing of Boeing 787

A pilot collapsed in the bathroom during a commercial flight from Miami to Chile, which prompted an emergency landing in Panama City, Panama, by his co-pilots. The pilot later died.

At around 11 p.m., the pilot of a Boeing 787 allegedly collapsed from a cardiac arrest while in the bathroom after the plane took off from Miami, the New York Post reported.

The flight was bound for Santiago, Chile, on LATAM airlines but was forced to make an emergency landing in Panama with grateful passengers applauding the flight crew in videos posted online.

The situation surrounding pilot Iván Andaur, 56, was cloudy due to anonymous reports allegedly from those aboard the flight.

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

“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," she allegedly added.

Another unnamed passenger said that one of the co-pilots asked if any doctors were on the flight just 40 minutes after takeoff, the Sun also reported.

“They told us that we were going to land because the pilot felt sick, and when we arrived they asked us to evacuate the plane because the situation had worsened,” said the unnamed passenger, who also claimed a flight attendant asked if anyone had items related to insulin dependency.

“All the necessary protocols were followed during the flight to safeguard the life of the affected pilot. Unfortunately, after landing and receiving further medical assistance, the pilot passed away,” LATAM airlines told the New York Post.

“LATAM Group is deeply saddened by this event and takes this opportunity to express our most sincere condolences to the family of our employee," they added.

"Today" host Tom Costello reported that while the FAA requires a plethora of medical devices be available on flights, there was not much the crew could have done to save the pilot.

"The FAA requires airlines to carry emergency medical kits onboard. They include some drugs, an external defibrillator, oxygen ... but there's not much you can do if someone is really in a very, very critical state like that," he noted.

Passengers were booked into hotels in Panama City and resumed flights to their destination two days later.

Andaur was formerly a pilot in the Chilean Air Force.

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