A Saudi Airlines pilot who died just hours after landing did not want to scare the passengers when he radioed the airport and asked for a medical team for a passenger who was not feeling well, a newspaper said on Tuesday.
Khaled Suleimna Matar died a few hours after he landed his aircraft at the airport in the eastern town of Dhahran and doctors said the death was caused by a myocardial infarction, Almadina Arabic language daily reported.
“Saudi Airlines officials said the pilot told the airport that a passenger was not feeling well because he did not want to scare the passengers…he even did not tell the cabin crew about his illness and revealed it to them only after the aircraft landed,” it said, adding that the 38-year-old pilot was buried on Monday.
The paper also quoted Abdullah Alajhar, Saudi Airlines assistant manager, as denying reports that the pilot died following a heated argument with his aide during the trip to Dhahran from the western Red Sea port of Jeddah.
It said Khaled felt well at the airport and was taken to a nearby hotel but that he later went to the hospital after feeling chest pain again.
“The hospital refused to receive him, prompting him to go to Almani Hospital…upon arrival, doctors examined him but he was already dead…doctors said the death was caused by a myocardial infarction.”
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