SAS Flight Makes Emergency Landing in Brussels Due to Pilot Illness

STOCKHOLM- A Scandinavian Airlines (SAS) flight from Oslo Gardermoen Airport (OSL) to Alicante-Elche Airport (ALC) had to divert to Brussels Airport (BRU) due to pilot incapacitation mid-flight.

The Airbus A320-200, operating as flight SK4671, encountered an emergency situation while cruising, which led to an immediate and unplanned landing in Belgium.

This diversion caused significant delays, with passengers waiting over five hours as a replacement crew was dispatched from Oslo. The aircraft ultimately arrived in Alicante (ALC) shortly before 2 AM, greatly exceeding its expected arrival time.

SAS Flight Diverts

Flight SK4671, operated by Scandinavian Airlines (SK), took off from Oslo Gardermoen Airport (OSL) bound for Alicante-Elche Miguel Hernández Airport (ALC), a favored spot in southeastern Spain.

This regularly scheduled service, which typically operates five times a week, was being flown by an 18-year-old Airbus A320-200 registered OY-KAU.

As per flight tracking data from Flightradar24, the aircraft departed at 16:18 local time, closely aligning with its planned start time of 16:10.

While cruising at 39,000 feet, about 30 nautical miles southwest of Brussels (BRU), one of the pilots became unwell.

This prompted an urgent diversion, and the aircraft safely landed at Brussels Airport (BRU) by 18:08 local time.

Crew Dispatched Amid Delay

With the pilot unable to continue, Scandinavian Airlines arranged for a replacement crew to be sent to Brussels.

A separate SAS flight, SK4745, was employed for this relief team, but it also faced delays. Initially scheduled to arrive at 20:55, SK4745 touched down at 22:21, nearly 90 minutes behind schedule.

This delay meant that the stranded Airbus A320-200 couldn’t depart until 23:52. Consequently, the aircraft finally reached Alicante at 01:40 local time, almost six hours late.

Due to this situation, SAS had to cancel the return flight to Oslo. An SAS spokesperson stated:

“One of the pilots on flight SK4671 felt unwell yesterday, and the aircraft was diverted as a precaution. Safety is, as always, our top priority. Passengers continued their journey within a few hours.”

Aircraft Status and Service

Despite this incident, the aircraft did not experience any technical issues and was back in service the following day. Flightradar24 showed that OY-KAU was repositioning from Alicante to Oslo as flight SK6371 by the next afternoon.

The Airbus A320-200, known as Hjorvard Viking, first took to the skies in August 2007. Originally, it flew for Indian budget airline IndiGo under the registration VT-INL.

The aircraft was transferred to SAS in October 2013 and is now part of the fleet serving as the flag carrier for Denmark, Norway, and Sweden.