Air Europa Boeing 737-300 Incident at Barcelona-El Prat (EC-GMY)

Incident Overview and Flight Details On 24 December 2001, an Air Europa Boeing 737-300-36Q, registration EC-GMY, was operating a scheduled passenger service between Palma de Mallorca and Barcelona. The aircraft was equipped with two CFM56-3C1 engines. During the approach to runway 07 at Barcelona-El Prat Airport, the captain, who was the pilot flying, became unwell at approximately 500 feet above the ground and handed control to the first officer. ## Crew Actions and Landing The first officer took control of the aircraft and removed the captain's hands from the power levers. The senior cabin crew member was asked to secure the captain's seatbelt and restrain him to prevent interference with the aircraft's controls. The first officer selected 30 degrees of flaps for landing. The aircraft touched down somewhat abruptly, but no damage was recorded. The first officer manually applied the brakes to exit the runway via exit E4 and requested an ambulance and a ladder from air traffic control. ## Medical Response and Outcome Several passenger physicians on board attended to the captain. Due to the urgency, the first officer deployed the left L1 door ramp to allow airport medical services to access the aircraft. The captain was evacuated through the ramp and transported to a nearby hospital, where he later died. The captain had suffered an acute myocardial infarction three years earlier. ## Aircraft and Flight Data The aircraft's flight data recorder indicated that at 10:16:54 UTC, the aircraft was at 531 feet with 15 degrees of flaps selected and a calibrated airspeed of 177.5 knots. At 10:17:10 UTC, at 362 feet, 30 degrees of flaps were selected and the speed was 164 knots. The landing occurred at 10:17:38 UTC with a vertical acceleration of 1.479 G, a landing speed of 147 knots, and a descent angle of 4.9 degrees. No significant deviations from the localizer or glideslope were recorded below 500 feet. The engines were shut down at 10:18:54 UTC. ## Crew and Medical Background The captain was 57 years old, of Uruguayan nationality, and held an ATPL with more than 15,000 total flight hours and more than 7,700 hours on type. The first officer was 28 years old, of Spanish nationality, and held a commercial pilot license with 2,320 total flight hours and 2,093 hours on type. The captain had been declared permanently unfit in 1999 following a myocardial infarction but was later reclassified as fit with restrictions under updated medical regulations, including a limitation requiring him to fly only with a qualified co-pilot.