Narrative:

I was captain on a stand up pairing with 3.5 hours of rest on the overnight. The first officer was the pm (pilot monitoring) on this leg. I did not see him eat or drink anything from 9PM the previous evening. This was a full flight with two company jumpseaters. The first officer preformed his duties flawlessly up until his incapacitation. The flight was normal until just after reaching cruise altitude. He had just made a PA and turned off the belt sign as requested and asked to use the lavatory. Approximately thirty-five minutes into the flight; he called the flight attendants using SOP and then attempted to hang up the handset. He slumped over the pedestal and dropped the handset; jerked his head and arms several times and then was motionless. I attempted to verbally and then physically contact him to see if he was ok. He was unresponsive. I grabbed him by the shoulder and placed him in an upright seated position. He became responsive and aware about thirty seconds after the onset of his incapacitation. The jumpseater and I attempted to ascertain whether it was a misguided attempt at humor or true incapacitation. Before we could be certain the flight attendants chimed and the first officer answered and exited the flight deck to use the lavatory. The jumpseater and I discussed this bizarre behavior and concluded that he should occupy the right seat until we determined the stability of the first officer. Shortly; the first officer exited the lavatory and contacted the flight deck for entrance. As he entered and closed the door he stated he did not feel well and then immediately collapsed onto the floor. At this time the controls were manned by healthy pilots and at no time was the safety of the flight in jeopardy. He was unresponsive for fourty seconds and we contacted the flight attendants to assist in restraint and then his removal. When he regained awareness he was placed on the aft flight attendant jump seat. A nurse/emt was on-board and checked vitals and company doctors were contacted and we agreed that we continue to our destination about fifty minutes away. The other jumpseater was tasked to monitor the situation and report to me and occupy the flight deck jumpseat before landing because no other seats were available. We declared a medical emergency and requested priority handling from ATC. EMS was requested and was at the gate for our arrival.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: A B717 First Officer suffered incapacitation and was removed from the flight deck for observation; his seat was then manned by a qualified jump seat observer.

Narrative: I was Captain on a stand up pairing with 3.5 hours of rest on the overnight. The First Officer was the PM (Pilot Monitoring) on this leg. I did not see him eat or drink anything from 9PM the previous evening. This was a full flight with two company jumpseaters. The First Officer preformed his duties flawlessly up until his incapacitation. The flight was normal until just after reaching cruise altitude. He had just made a PA and turned off the belt sign as requested and asked to use the lavatory. Approximately thirty-five minutes into the flight; he called the flight attendants using SOP and then attempted to hang up the handset. He slumped over the pedestal and dropped the handset; jerked his head and arms several times and then was motionless. I attempted to verbally and then physically contact him to see if he was OK. He was unresponsive. I grabbed him by the shoulder and placed him in an upright seated position. He became responsive and aware about thirty seconds after the onset of his incapacitation. The jumpseater and I attempted to ascertain whether it was a misguided attempt at humor or true incapacitation. Before we could be certain the flight attendants chimed and the First Officer answered and exited the flight deck to use the lavatory. The jumpseater and I discussed this bizarre behavior and concluded that he should occupy the right seat until we determined the stability of the First Officer. Shortly; the First Officer exited the lavatory and contacted the flight deck for entrance. As he entered and closed the door he stated he did not feel well and then immediately collapsed onto the floor. At this time the controls were manned by healthy pilots and at no time was the safety of the flight in jeopardy. He was unresponsive for fourty seconds and we contacted the flight attendants to assist in restraint and then his removal. When he regained awareness he was placed on the aft flight attendant jump seat. A nurse/EMT was on-board and checked vitals and company doctors were contacted and we agreed that we continue to our destination about fifty minutes away. The other jumpseater was tasked to monitor the situation and report to me and occupy the flight deck jumpseat before landing because no other seats were available. We declared a medical emergency and requested priority handling from ATC. EMS was requested and was at the gate for our arrival.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of April 2012 and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.