Southwest pilot incapacitated by falling screen in cockpit as plane took off

A Southwest Airlines captain was incapacitated by a falling screen in his aircraft’s cockpit just as the plane was about to take off, according to the company. ​

The incident, which involved the pilot being struck with a Heads Up Display, aka a HUD, unfolded as the plane prepared to fly from Harry Reid International Airport to Reno, Nevada, the airline told The Independent.

A HUD is a transparent screen that sits at around eye level and provides essential flight information, such as airspeed and altitude. ​

The display allows pilots to check information without having to glance down at cockpit screens and terminals.​

The flight was scheduled to take off at 2:20 pm on April 8.

Shortly after takeoff, the captain began to feel unwell, the airline said. That led both him and the first officer to decide to return to the airport.

“The First Officer landed the aircraft, but the Captain felt well enough to taxi the plane safely to the gate,” the Southwest Airlines spokesperson added.

​A wheelchair was eventually requested to remove the captain, who had a mild concussion, according to Paddle Your Own Kanoo.

Before he was taken by medics, the captain had started vomiting, according to the publication.

​After waiting on the ground for around an hour and a half, the aircraft departed once again and reached Reno with a delay of around two hours, according to The Aviation Herald. ​

“Southwest Airlines Flight 568 returned safely to Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas around 2:45 p.m. local time on April 8 after the crew reported a pilot injury,” an FAA spokesperson told The Independent. “The flight was traveling to Reno-Tahoe International Airport.”

The incident follows an unrelated incident near Nashville International Airport, where two Southwest Airlines planes were forced to take emergency evasive action to avoid a collision. ​Southwest Flight 507 was attempting to land at the Tennessee airport at around 5.30 pm on Saturday, while Southwest Flight 1152 was departing from a parallel runway.

The second flight was bound for Knoxville. ​

However, collision alarms soon went off in both Boeing 737 cockpits, warning that they were too close together. ​

The Federal Aviation Administration told The Independent that Flight 507 had aborted its first landing as a precautionary measure and began a “go-around.”​

Then, the crew “received instructions from air traffic control that put the flight in the path of another airplane.”​

At their closest point, the aircraft were separated by just 500 feet of altitude, according to Flightradar24.​