A British Airways pilot has collapsed and died suddenly after suffering a heart attack shortly before he was due to fly a packed passenger jet.
The pilot, who hasn’t been identified by the airline, died at a hotel in Egypt after collapsing unexpectedly.
He was on his way to Cairo Airport to fly a British Airways (BA) plane back to Heathrow in the UK.
There were roughly 200 passengers aboard the flight that the deceased pilot was due to fly.
The pilot was with the rest of his fellow crew members when he collapsed as they prepared to travel to the airport, according to reports.
The flight crew gave first aid to their colleague in the foyer of the hotel in Cairo after he had a heart attack.
They performed CPR as they desperately tried to save his life but were unsuccessful.
The plane, which was ready to take off for Heathrow Airport, was delayed by the tragedy.
However, the passengers on board the jet were blissfully unaware that their pilot had just dropped dead.
“It has rocked BA,” a source reportedly told The Sun.
“It doesn’t bear imagining if he had suffered a heart attack at 30,000ft.”
The body of the pilot was flown back to the UK in a Boeing 787.
The wide-body Dreamliner was flown to Egypt especially for the grim task because there was no room for the coffin in the hold of the packed Airbus A321 jet he had been scheduled to fly.
BA bosses had the task of informing the veteran pilot’s family of his sudden death.
“Our thoughts are with our colleagues’ friends and family at this very sad time,” BA said in a statement.
READ MORE: Wealthy Elites Now ‘Require’ Unvaccinated Pilots to Fly Private Jets
