Two Cathay Pacific captains lose eyesight during flights, sparking probe by authorities

Two Cathay Pacific Airways captains suffered loss of eyesight on separate flights earlier this year, forcing their co-pilots to take command of their aircraft and issue urgent calls to air traffic control before landing safely, Hong Kong’s aviation incident authority disclosed on Tuesday.

One captain was flying from Perth, Australia, to Hong Kong on flight CX170 on February 21 when he told his first officer, the co-pilot, that he felt out of breath and his vision was impaired, before declaring he was incapacitated, according to a preliminary report by the Air Accident Investigation Authority.