LATAM pilot Ivan Andaur, 56, collapses and dies in the toilet of a Boeing 787 Dreamliner flying from Miami to Chile as two co-pilots are forced to make an emergency landing: nurse who tried to save him says she was not the ‘necessary supplies’
- LATAM captain Iván Andaur died on Sunday while flying from Miami to Chile
- The 56-year-old pilot fell ill in the toilet before passengers tried to help him
- The flight was diverted to Panama City, where Andaur was pronounced dead
A pilot collapsed and died in the toilet of a LATAM Boeing 787 Dreamliner flying from Miami to Chile when his two co-pilots were forced to make an emergency landing in Panama City
Ivan Andaur, 56, was flying LATAM flight LA505 from Miami International Airport to Santiago, Chile, on Sunday night when he began to feel unwell and collapsed in the toilet.
Two co-pilots took control of the plane and landed at Tocumen International Airport, where paramedics entered the plane and gave first aid to Andaur, but he was pronounced dead.
A registered nurse, identified only as Isadora on social media, said she along with another nurse and two doctors tried to revive Andaur as the plane landed after he had symptoms related to cardiac arrest.
While she says the crew did their very best to help, she claims the makeshift medical team did not have “necessary or sufficient supplies” to resuscitate the pilot.
LATAM captain Ivan Andaur fell ill and died on a flight from Miami to Chile on Sunday. The airline said two co-pilots took control of the plane and made an emergency landing in Panamá City, Panama, where paramedics attempted to resuscitate the 56-year-old pilot before pronouncing him dead.
Isadora, a registered nurse, joined another nurse and two doctors in an effort to save the life of LATAM pilot Iván Andaur after he fell ill on a flight on Sunday
“Unfortunately, we didn’t have the necessary or sufficient supplies to perform proper CPR,” Isadora said.
“There, LATAM needs to improve the issue of protocol in case of health problems and medical emergencies like this one where lives can be saved but resources are needed.”
It is not clear which stocks Isadora was referring to. LATAM has been contacted for comment.
Another unnamed female passenger said the flight departed Miami around 11 p.m. before one of the co-pilots requested medical attention.
“After 40 minutes, the pilot asked us if there was a doctor on board, we don’t know what happened there,” she said.
The woman said a flight attendant asked passengers if anyone had supplies for insulin-dependent people.
“They told us 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,” she said.
The late LATAM pilot Iván Andaur with his wife Veronica Andaur, who died in 2017. The couple is survived by their daughter, Sofia Andaur
Iván Andaur served in the Chilean Air Force before becoming a commercial airline pilot
Sky Airways Captain Paula Mandini (third from right) recalls one of the many trips she took with the late Iván Andaur (right) during their time as LATAM colleagues
Walter Guerra, a Chilevision TV producer, told Chilean news outlet LUN that the plane was at the gate for half an hour before the airline announced it was canceling the flight.
Passengers were booked into area hotels and resumed their flights Tuesday afternoon.
Andaur was a pilot in the Chilean Air Force before joining LATAM.
He was married to Veronica Andaur, who passed away in 2017. The couple had a daughter, Sofia Andaur.
Sky Airline captain Paula Mandini paid tribute to Iván Andaur on Facebook, recalling the flight crew’s night out in Hamburg, Germany, before returning to Chile.
“I have many memories of flights, conversations and so many things… I have a giant lump in my throat,” Mandini wrote. ‘I only hope that you are with your Vero and give strength to your daughter from heaven..!!!!! Fly high..!!!!!’
“At Latam, we are deeply moved by what has happened and we extend our sincere condolences to the family of our employee,” the airline said in a statement.
‘We are very grateful to him for his 25-year career and his valuable contribution, which has always stood out for his dedication, professionalism and commitment.’