SIA flight to New York diverted back to S'pore 4 hours after take-off after pilot allegedly falls ill

The aircraft was subsequently refuelled and departed Singapore again later that night.

Photos from SIA's website and FlightRadar24's website.

A Singapore Airlines (SIA) flight departing Singapore for New York on Sep. 14 returned to Changi Airport four hours after taking off, following an in-flight medical emergency.

The incident first came to light after a user posted on the Reddit thread r/flightradar24, alleging that flight SQ24, which was bound for John F Kennedy International Airport in New York, had been diverted as the pilot was not feeling well.

According to data from the flight-tracking website FlightRadar24, the flight departed Changi Airport at about 12:24pm on Monday.

The flight-route playback showed that about four hours into the journey, the plane diverted and headed back to Singapore.

Screenshot from FlightRadar24's website.

It eventually landed at Changi Airport at about 9:11pm.

In the comments section, another Reddit user, who said they were onboard SQ24, claimed that a doctor seated behind them had been called to attend to a situation on the aircraft.

About an hour later, passengers were told the pilot had a "medical issue" and that the aircraft would turn back to Singapore, the user claimed.

"The captain was disembarked first with medical staff once landed," they wrote.

In response to Mothership's queries, an SIA spokesperson confirmed that flight SQ24 returned to Singapore at 9:11pm due to an in-flight medical emergency.

However, they were unable to provide further details about the medical emergency due to customer confidentiality.

According to the spokesperson, upon arriving at Changi Airport, all 144 customers and 17 crew disembarked the Airbus A350-900 aircraft normally.

The customers received the necessary assistance on the ground, including refreshments.

The aircraft was subsequently refuelled and departed Singapore again at 11:58pm, the spokesperson said.

The flight was scheduled to arrive at John F Kennedy International Airport at 9:38am on Sep. 15,

The airline also apologised to customers for the inconvenience caused.