Indian pilot dies midair of a heart attack

An Indian pilot with Qatar Airways died mid-flight of a massive heart attack when the plane carrying 260 passengers was on its way to Doha from Manila, forcing the co-pilot to make an emergency landing at Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia.

Ajay Kukreja, 43, who had been working with the airline for five years, was on flight QR645 when the tragedy struck on Wednesday.

When Kukreja complained of chest pain, the co-pilot requested permission from Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) to land and asked that a medical team be on hand, The Peninsula reported.

The passengers on board were not told about the pilot's condition, the report said, adding that he was declared dead after the flight landed at KLIA.

The entire crew of the plane was then changed and it continued on its journey, leaving Kuala Lumpur at 1:15pm and landing in Doha at 3:37pm, more than four-and-a-half hours behind schedule.

Kukreja's body was taken to Serdang Hospital in Kuala Lumpur for a post-mortem. Reports said he died of a massive cardiac arrest.

Sources close to his family in Doha told the newspaper that he had no past history of heart problems. However, he was asthmatic and always carried an inhaler.

His body will be flown to Mumbai directly from Kuala Lumpur. Qatar Airways is making arrangements to bring his family over.

Kukreja's parents live in Mumbai, though he was from Delhi. He had married a woman from Goa and had two children, a 13-year-old boy and a 10-year-old girl.

A Qatar Airways official reportedly visited his wife to break the tragic news of her husband's sudden death.