More than 200 passengers were left without a pilot for 10 minutes on a Lufthansa flight from Germany to Spain last year, investigators have found.
The captain left the cockpit to visit the bathroom just as the Airbus A321 was due to cross the Spanish border, leaving the first officer in charge as the flight approached its final half hour.
Just eight minutes later, he was unable to get back into the room as his co-pilot lost consciousness.
The flight, from Frankfurt to Seville, appeared to be running smoothly and was cruising when disaster almost struck.
The captain tried to enter the security door's access code five times, while a flight attendant tried to contact the first officer on the intercom.
