A Dec. 30, 2022, Instagram post (direct link, archive link) features a screenshot of a social media post where a woman claims her husband and other pilots are now being trained to deal with sudden death during flights.
“NEVER until this year has he ever had to while training in a simulator, practice for when a pilot suddenly ‘you know what’ and goes catatonic and slumps over and just (dies) while in flight," reads the text of the post. "Well this year it is now part of the annual training and simulator practice."
The Instagram post was liked more than 2,000 times in five days.
Comments on the post showed social media users interpreted the supposed change in training to be a result of the COVID-19 vaccine. One user said, "This has been going on since the v was introduced," and another said sudden medical episodes had been a concern of theirs ever since "I heard the airlines were making the pilots get the VAX."
Another version of the claim was shared more than 150 times on Facebook.
This training is nothing new. The Federal Aviation Administration, major airlines and an aviation expert told USA TODAY that pilots have trained for in-flight incapacitation for decades. The FAA said it is not aware of any cases of in-flight pilot deaths related to the COVID-19 vaccine.
Mina Kaji, a spokesperson for the Federal Aviation...
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