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stated on October 11, 2021 in a blog post:

“Vaxxed Delta pilot dies in-flight, emergency landing required.”

False
By Ciara O'Rourke
October 13, 2021

No, a vaccinated Delta pilot didn’t die mid-flight and force an emergency landing

If your time is short

  • Delta Air Lines says this didn’t happen. 
     
  • A website that tracks aviation incidents notes no emergency landings involving a Delta flight in this time frame. 
 
See the sources for this fact-check

Social media posts are sharing a claim that suggests a pilot with Delta Air Lines died during a flight as a result of receiving a COVID-19 vaccine. 

“Vaxxed Delta pilot dies in-flight, emergency landing required,” reads one headline on an Oct. 11 blog post that cites “multiple sources,” who are not named. The pilot who supposedly died “within the last two weeks” also is not named.  

Delta told PolitiFact that’s because this isn’t accurate. 

This post was flagged as part of Facebook’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Facebook.)

“Delta is aware of reports suggesting one of the airline’s pilots passed away from vaccine complications while operating a flight, resulting in an emergency landing,” the company said in a statement. “All of these allegations are false. The pandemic has been an incredibly tragic time for many, and our hearts go out to the hundreds of thousands of families who have passed away from the horrific virus.” 

We found no evidence to support the claims in the blog post. There are no news reports of a Delta flight making an emergency landing within the past two weeks, much less because he died after getting vaccinated. 

Searching the Aviation Global Incident Map, a website that tracks aviation incidents and accidents, we found several emergency landings on commercial flights between Sept. 26 and Oct. 11, when the blog was published, but none involving a Delta flight. 

And the Federal Aviation Administration told Lead Stories that it found no evidence of a Delta flight making an emergency landing due to the death of a pilot. 

We rate this post False.

 
Our Sources

Blog post, Oct. 11, 2021

Aviation Global Incident Map search, Oct. 13, 2021

Lead Stories, Fact check: A ‘vaxxed’ Delta pilot did not die in-flight requiring an emergency landing, Oct. 12, 2021

Statement from Delta Air Lines, Oct. 12, 2021

 

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