Tag Archives: Airbus

Did Qatar Airways Pilot Die From Vaccine Mid-Flight?!

Claim : Qatar Airways Pilot Died From Vaccine Mid-Flight!

Some people are suggesting or claiming that the pilot of Qatar Airways flight QR579 died suddenly mid-flight due to a COVID-19 vaccine injury or SADS!

William Makis MD : BREAKING NEWS: Another PILOT has died inflight!!

Aug.16, 2023 – Quatar Airways QR579 (DEL-DOH) Delhi to Doha, Quatar diverted to Dubai as 51 year old senior pilot collapsed inflight and died!

2nd pilot death & 4th collapse THIS WEEK! #DiedSuddenly #cdnpoli #ableg

Stew Peters : ANOTHER pilot #DiedSuddenly, MID FLIGHT. Qatar Airlines vaxxed all their pilots, evidently.

#PureBloods will rule the world one day soon.

Jack Straw : BREAKING NEWS: Another PILOT has died inflight!!

Aug.16, 2023 – Quatar Airways QR579 (DEL-DOH) Delhi to Doha, Quatar diverted to Dubai as 51 year old senior pilot collapsed inflight and died! 2nd pilot death & 4th collapse THIS WEEK!

No Evidence Qatar Airways Pilot Died From Vaccine Mid-Flight!

It’s now tradition for anti-vaccination activists to blame all sudden deaths or illnesses on the COVID-19 vaccine.

Here are the reasons why this is yet another example of FAKE NEWS created and propagated by anti-vaccination activists…

Fact #1 : Qatar Airways Pilot Was Passenger Aboard QR579

First, let me just point out that the pilot who died aboard Qatar Airways flight QR579 was not the senior pilot for that flight. He was aboard the flight as a passenger.

To be clear – Qatar Airways flight QR579 was never in any danger during the tragic incident. It was not one of its two pilots who had a medical emergency and died.

Fact #2 : He Died Onboard Qatar Airways QR579

On August 16, 2023, Qatar Airways flight QR579 took off from Delhi, heading towards Doha. 30 minutes into its flight, the Airbus A350-900 aircraft suddenly turned left and headed for Dubai International Airport (DXB), where it landed 30 minutes later.

Later, it was reported that the aircraft with the registration of A7-ALM diverted to Dubai due to a medical emergency – a senior pilot who was travelling as a passenger, suddenly fell critically ill onboard.

Despite a swift response and medical assistance onboard flight QR579, he could not be saved. He was declared dead on arrive at Dubai International Airport.

Fact #3 : The Pilot Allegedly Died From Cardiac Arrest

The Qatar Airways pilot was a 51 year-old man of Indian origin, who had flown SpiceJet’s inaugural flight in 2005:

The pilot had worked with Alliance Air and spent 17 years in SpiceJet. He had operated SpiceJet’s first flight, Delhi-Ahmedabad, on May 23, 2005. Last year he had joined Qatar Airways where he was flying the Boeing 777.

A colleague who worked with the pilot for several years expressed shock, stating that “He was very fit and his untimely demise has come as a big shock for everyone who knew him“. That quote is being used to claim or suggest that the pilot “must have” died from a COVID-19 vaccine injury of some sort.

There is no evidence that his death has anything to do with COVID-19 vaccines. And certainly, people pushing those claims offered ZERO evidence to back up their “expert opinions”.

Officially, Qatar Airways has not commented on the death of the pilot. But India’s Zee News reported that the pilot was ascertained to have died from cardiac arrest.

While it is likely that the pilot died from sudden cardiac arrest, I would caution that the pilot’s official cause of death remains unknown.

Until and unless his family and/or Qatar Airways or the Dubai authorities reveal his official cause of death, any claim that he died from this or that cause should be taken with a pinch of salt.

Fact #4 : Cardiac Arrest Is Common

While anti-vaccination activists claim that there is a sudden surge of “untimely deaths” from cardiac arrest, it has long been a major cause of death… long before the COVID-19 vaccines were invented.

The United States alone records over half a million cases of sudden cardiac arrest cases every year – an incidence of about 130 per 100,000 individuals per year. Many people have undiagnosed heart conditions that may not produce noticeable symptoms in daily life, but could result in sudden cardiac arrest at any time.

A 2012 study discovered that people in Southern India who died from sudden cardiac arrest were 5-8 years younger compared to people in the western hemisphere.

10% of all deaths in Southern India were caused by sudden cardiac death
almost half were 60 years-old or younger
many were diagnosed with heart disease
over 80% had at least one risk factor for coronary artery disease – hypertension, diabetes, or smoking
they were generally 5-8 years younger than similar cases in the western hemisphere

Fact #5 : Unknown If Qatar Airways Pilot Was Vaccinated

Despite suggestions that the Qatar Airways pilot was fully-vaccinated, there isn’t any actual evidence that he ever received the COVID-19 vaccine. We don’t even know his name, much less his COVID-19 vaccination status!

Qatar Airways also never mandated the COVID-19 vaccine for its pilots or its aircrew. Instead, pilots and aircrew were offered two options – get vaccinated, or undergo a COVID-19 test every few days.

[H]ow did Qatar Airways achieve 100 per cent crew vaccination without threatening dismissal against vaccine-hesitant workers?

Unlike the United States, cabin crew in Qatar weren’t immediately prioritised for the vaccine and supply issues meant that Qatar hasn’t had a surplus of vaccines that are going to waste either.

But when crew did become eligible, they had a simple choice – get vaccinated or have an invasive COVID-19 test every few days to prove your negative status.

That said – the pilot is likely fully-vaccinated. He only joined Qatar Airways in 2022. Previously, he was with SpiceJet. While it is unknown whether SpiceJet has a vaccine mandate for its aircrew, SpiceJet is promoting the fact that its crew members and ground personnel are fully-vaccinated and masked.

Even so, I should point out that COVID-19 vaccine is not mandatory in India, and the pilot may possibly have left SpiceJet over the vaccination mandate (if there’s one). So it is still possible that the pilot was not vaccinated against COVID-19. We simply do not know his vaccination status for sure. Heck, we don’t even know his name!

Until and unless the pilot’s family (or Qatar Airways) reveals his COVID-19 vaccination status, anyone who tells you that the unnamed pilot was vaccinated or otherwise, is likely lying to you. None of us have any evidence of that.

Fact #6 : Vaccine Side Effects Appear Within Hours / Days

Even if the Qatar Airways pilot was fully-vaccinated against COVID-19, he would have received his doses more than a year ago! It is quite impossible for him to suffer from vaccine side effects, because they appear within hours or days, not months later.

Mild side effects like injection site pain, fever, muscle ache, headache, lethargy develop within minutes to hours of the vaccination.

Anaphylaxis develops within minutes, while other severe adverse reactions like myocarditis and VITT develop within days or weeks.

The spike proteins produced by the COVID-19 vaccines also do not stick around for months. If these spike proteins are permanent (as antivaxxers claim), we would have lifelong immunity.

Your own immune system will identify the spike proteins as foreign, and destroy them within a matter of days, although some may last for up to a few weeks. This is part of how vaccines teach your immune system to identify the enemy and destroy it.

Fact #7 : Claims Of COVID-19 Vaccine Injuries Often Proven False

Most claims of sudden deaths / injuries due to the COVID-19 vaccine have been proven false. Here is the latest dozen of other false sudden death claims!

Will these anti-vaccination activists apologise for lying to you? Nope! They will just move on to the next death or tragedy…

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Will Russian Sanctions Bankrupt Airbus + Leasing Companies?

Claim : Russian Sanctions Will Bankrupt Airbus + Leasing Companies!

This message is going viral on social media, including WhatsApp and Facebook, claiming that the Russian sanctions will end up killing Airbus and European leasing companies.

It also suggests that the sanctions are being used by the United States to “screw the Europeans again”.

It’s a long post, so feel free to skip to the next section for the facts!

Interesting side effect of european sanctions on russia (as per Phil Seymour – President of the association of European Leasing Companies.

All over the word airlines don’t own their own planes, they lease them.

The European Union has imposed sanctions on Russia and obliged European leasing companies to take back all leased aircraft from Russia by March 28th. That’s a total of 520 aircraft.

Phil Seymour, President of the Association of European Leasing Companies:
1. Return of 520 aircraft! How is this to be done? The Russians said if you refuse to lease them to us, get them back yourself! How can we get 520 crews to Russia when the airspace in Russia, Belarus and Ukraine is closed? We can’t fly in!
2. Once the handover has taken place in Russian airports, the planes will no longer be Russian. But a non-Russian plane is not allowed to fly in Russian airspace – the Russian airspace is blocked! We won’t be able to fly out!
3. However, the leasing companies are the initiators of the termination of these leases. In the original calculation of the cost of fines in such a case, we will all be bankrupted at once. It’s easier and cheaper to go bankrupt than to take back the planes.
4. February is over and Russia has to pay the lease payments for the month. Russia is willing to pay but cannot pay because it is excluded from SWIFT. We ourselves have to pay fines because of the terminations, but in view of the lack of incoming payments from Russia we have no money for such payments!
5. Even if we take back these planes, what are we going to do with them? We don’t need them, nobody wants them and it’s impossible to sell them!
6. The Boeings of American leasing companies are not affected. If Europe takes the planes away from the Russians, the US will supply Russia with its Boeing planes and become the world’s No. 1 airline, bankrupting both the European leasing company and Airbus.”

Show less

Truth : Russian Sanctions Will NOT Bankrupt Airbus + Leasing Companies!

This is yet another example of pro-Russian fake news that was created to mislead people about the Russian sanctions, and drive a wedge between the United States and Europe.

Here are the reasons why…

Fact #1 : There Is No Association of European Leasing Companies

There is no such thing as an Association of European Leasing Companies.

There is the International Society of Transport Aircraft Trading (ISTAT), but it is an international organisation for commercial aviation professionals, and not restricted to leasing companies.

Fact #2 : Phil Seymour Is President Of IBA Group

Phil Seymour (LinkedIn) is the President of the IBA Group, not the President of the non-existent Association of European Leasing Companies.

In case you are wondering, Phil Seymour (left) is not the President of the ISTAT organisation either. That’s Dean Gerber (right).

Fact #3 : IBA Group Is An Aviation Consultancy Firm

The IBA Group is an aviation consultancy firm based in the United Kingdom. It is not an association of leasing companies.

Fact #4 : Airlines Do Not Always Lease Aircraft

Until recent years, airlines generally own most of the aircraft they use.

Aircraft leasing only started in earnest in the 1990s. Even then, it took until 2020 for 50% of commercial aircraft worldwide to be leased, which topped at 51% in 2021.

The claim that airlines do not own their planes, but lease all of them is false.

Fact #5 : Russia Has 515 To 758 Foreign Leased Aircraft

According to Cirium, Russia has 980 commercial aircraft, of which 777 are leased :

515 aircraft leased from foreign companies, and
252 aircraft leased from Russian companies

IBA claims that Russia has 905 leased commercial aircraft, of which :

713 are registered in Bermuda
34 are registered in Ireland
158 are registered in Russia (11 are owned by foreign banks / lessors)

Depending on your definition – owned or registered – Russia has either 515, 747 or 758 foreign leased aircraft.

The figure of 520 foreign leased aircraft attributed to Phil Seymour appears to be made-up.

Fact #5 : Not Only European Leasing Companies Are Affected

Ireland-based AerCap Holdings NV is the most leasing company most affected by the sanctions on Russia with :

96 aircraft leased to Aeroflot, and
17 aircraft leased to Pobeda

However, European companies are not the only ones affected. After AerCap, these companies are most affected (ranked from top to bottom) :

SMBC Aviation (Ireland-based leasing arm of Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group of Japan)
BOC Aviation Ltd. (based in Singapore)
Air Lease Corp. (based in Los Angeles, United States)

Fact #6 : Handover / Repossession Need Not Take Place In Russia

The claim that the Russians are insisting that leasing companies recover their planes in Russia is nonsense. There was no such demand.

While Russian airlines may make it difficult for leasing companies by insisting they recover the planes from Moscow, they will likely fly their leased aircraft to other countries like Dubai, for instance.

As Phil Seymour himself pointed out that, “Russian airlines would likely cooperate to safeguard access to planes in future years.”

Only 33 countries banned Russian commercial aircraft from their airspace (as of 2 March 2022) :

All 27 European Union countries
Albania
Canada
Norway
Switzerland
United Kingdom
United States of America

Russian airlines can still fly into many other countries to handover their leased aircraft, as this map shows.

Countries that banned Russian aircraft (blue), as of 2 March 2022

Fact #7 : Russia Banned Airlines, Not Leasing Companies

On 28 February 2022, Russian Federal Air Transport Agency (Rosaviation) banned airlines from 36 countries in response to the banning of Russian airlines from their airspace.

The ban only applied to airlines from those 36 countries, with my own emphasis underlined and bold :

In accordance with the norms of international law, as a response to the ban of European states on flights of civil aircraft operated by Russian air carriers and/or registered in Russia, a restriction on flights of air carriers of 36 states has been introduced.

Therefore, leasing companies will have no issue repossessing their aircraft in Moscow and flying them back.

Fact #8 : Leasing Companies Need Not Pay Termination Fines

The claim that leasing companies will have to pay Russian airlines hefty termination fines for cancelling their lease is false.

Phil Seymour himself said that leasing companies are protected by the Material Adverse Change clause.

Plane-rental contracts generally contain a “material adverse change” clause and leasing firms could argue that airspace closures and sanctions imposed on Russian carriers amount to just such a breach. That would allow them to declare default and seize back their aircraft.

In fact, he also pointed out that leasing companies have grounds to repossess their aircraft, regardless of sanctions or ability to pay – as long as they believe that the lease is “compromised by the developing situation” or deem that the “aircraft to be at risk now or in the future”.

Fact #9 : Boeing Aircraft Are Affected Too

The claim that Boeing aircraft are not affected by the sanctions is an outright lie.

The EU sanctions apply to “any plane owned, chartered or otherwise controlled by a Russian legal or natural person“, not just those manufactured by European companies like Airbus.

In fact, the first four aircraft known to be repossessed from Russian airlines are all Boeing 737 planes :

Interfax reported that three Boeing 737 aircraft are being recalled from Pobeda (Aeroflot’s low-cost airline).
Russian media outlet RBC reported that a Boeing 737 operated by Pobeda was seized from the Havalimani airport in Istanbul, Turkey.

Pobeda Boeing 737 flying in happier times

Fact #10 : Both Boeing + Airbus Suspended Operations In Russia

It is ludicrous to claim that the US will sell Boeing aircraft to Russia, when the United States also imposed sanctions on Russia!

In fact, both Boeing and Airbus announced on 1 March 2022 that they are suspending support for their aircraft in Russia. This includes supply of spare parts, as well as maintenance and technical support.

Fact #11 : Russia Is Not A Very Big Market For Aircraft

It is also ludicrous to claim that Airbus will be bankrupt by the sanctions on Russia.

For one thing – all Airbus aircraft leased to Russian airlines are owned (and paid for) by the leasing companies. So Airbus won’t suffer any financial loss, even if the leasing companies do not get their planes back.

Russia is also not a very big market for commercial aircraft. The complete loss of the Russian market will be painful, no doubt, but it won’t be enough to bankrupt Airbus.

Worldwide fleet of commercial airliners 2019, with 2040 projections

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