Another pilot emergency

This time on a Southwest flight out of Las Vegas yesterday

(Working on a long story about the desperate efforts to blame raccoon dogs for the initial spread to humans of Sars-Cov-2, a theory that would be a wee bit stronger if a SINGLE naturally infected raccoon dog had ever been found anywhere in the world, but the meantime…)

A Southwest flight from Las Vegas to Columbus, Ohio, had to turn back yesterday after one of its pilots became “incapacitated.” Details of both the incident and the pilot’s current condition are scarce.

But whatever happened was serious enough that the pilot had to be removed from the cockpit. An off-duty non-Southwest pilot replaced him and helped land the plane.

A reader sent in this interesting email about the incident, worth sharing in its entirety:

My observation: The major airlines have been aggressive in requiring
vaccinations for their employees.

In the process they have created a relevant sub-population for analysis.
Frequent health screening for pilots and mandatory vaccination removes
analytically troublesome variables from study of vaccination impact.

What is the incidence rate of health problems among active professional
pilots since vaccination began compared to before or to another suitable
baseline?

Could someone influential in this subject area be successful in
advocating that Congress take up this question? After all, FAA, public
safety, etc all within their area of responsibility.

—

An excellent idea.