Pilot Thought Instructor Who Died Mid-Flight Was Just Joking: Report

Shortly after takeoff, a pilot flying a light aircraft over the skies of northwest England last June noticed the head of his copilot—a flying instructor he knew well—had rolled back in his chair. The pilot thought his friend was merely pretending to be asleep, even when the instructor slumped over onto the pilot’s shoulder.

The pilot continued the flight and landed as normal. Only when he tried to get the instructor to quit kidding around did the pilot realize the instructor was dead.

According to a report from the U.K.’s Air Accidents Investigation Branch, the 57-year-old instructor had suffered a fatal cardiac arrest inside the cockpit but his colleague believed the whole thing was a joke for the entirety of the journey.

Read more at The Daily Beast.