The pilot of a Southwest Airlines jet flying from Las Vegas to Reno earlier this month was injured when he was struck in the head by a falling instrument display, requiring him to turn the flight over to his first officer for an emergency landing.
Southwest Flight 568 had just taken off from Harry Reid International Airport for Reno Tahoe International Airport the afternoon of April 8 when a display screen, known as a Heads Up Display, or HUD, hit the captain in the head.
An HUD is a thin transparent screen that sits at or just above eye level, providing flight-related information, like airspeed and altitude, without the pilot needing to glance down at the various screens and terminals in the cockpit.
The incident was first reported by the Aviation Herald, but details emerged Tuesday and the Dallas-based airline, the busiest operating at Reid airport, acknowledged what happened.
According to the Herald, the blow to the captain’s head resulted in a mild concussion but that injuries were severe enough that the captain had started vomiting before he was taken away by emergency medical personnel.
“The captain of Flight 568 was struck on the head by the Heads Up Display shortly before departure,” a Southwest representative said in a Tuesday email. “A short time after takeoff, the captain began to feel unwell. He and the first officer opted to make a precautionary return to Las Vegas. The first officer landed the aircraft, but the captain felt well enough to taxi the plane safely to the gate.”
There were no indications how many people were aboard the Boeing 737 jet. The Herald’s account of the incident said the plane had climbed to 7,000 feet when the decision was made to turn around and head back to Las Vegas.
“For medical privacy reasons, we cannot confirm specifics about any medical events that occurred after the plane was parked and the captain had left the aircraft,” the Southwest representative said. “Nothing is more important to Southwest than the safety of our customers and employees.”
The Herald reported that Southwest was able to find a replacement captain and clear the aircraft for departure an hour and a half after it had landed back in Las Vegas.
Contact Richard N. Velotta at rvelotta@reviewjournal.com or 702-477-3893. Follow @RickVelotta on X.
