The Dispatch
Share this post
Did a Delta Pilot Collapse and Die Midflight?
factcheck.thedispatch.com
The Dispatch Fact Check

Did a Delta Pilot Collapse and Die Midflight?

No.

Khaya Himmelman
Oct 19, 2021
Comment9
Share
(Photo by Massimo Insabato/Archivio Massimo Insabato/Mondadori Portfolio/ Getty Images.)

A widely shared article from The True Defender, which describes itself as having been founded “as a counter to the establishment media that primarily shares news and opinion from a decidedly liberal perspective,” claims that “that a fully vaccinated Delta Airlines pilot died in flight within the last two weeks, an emergency landing was forced, and the company is covering it up!”

This is a false claim. 

The rumor comes from “The Stew Peters Show” podcast, where podcast guest Jane Ruby shared a story “directly related to Delta airlines” that was “corroborated from three separate whistleblowers,” one of them being the co-pilot. She claimed a “pilot died in flight” and that the co-pilot had to make an emergency landing.

Again, this isn’t true. 

Ruby, who describes herself as “​​a medical professional and a pharmaceutical drug development expert,” has previously promoted debunked claims about the COVID-19 vaccine, such as the false rumor that magnetism was being added to the COVID-19 vaccine. According to Reuters, Ruby has also promoted the claim, without sufficient evidence, that the COVID-19 vaccine causes blood anomalies. 

In an email to The Dispatch Fact Check, a spokesperson from Delta said: “Delta is aware of reports suggesting one of the airline’s pilots passed away from vaccine complications while operating a flight, resulting in an emergency landing. All of these allegations are false.”

The Federal Aviation Administration also told The Dispatch Fact Check via email that: “The FAA has found no evidence such an event occurred.”

If you have a claim you would like to see us fact check, please send us an email at factcheck@thedispatch.com. If you would like to suggest a correction to this piece or any other Dispatch article, please email corrections@thedispatch.com.

Comment9
ShareShare

Create your profile

0 subscriptions will be displayed on your profile (edit)

Skip for now

Only Dispatch Members only can comment on this post

Already a paid subscriber? Sign in

Check your email

For your security, we need to re-authenticate you.

Click the link we sent to , or click here to sign in.

Aylene Wright
Oct 19, 2021

Um ... nice Fact Check, but I hadn't heard this rumor, heard of the True Defender, or this Jane Ruby or the Stew Peters Show until this Fact Check.

At a certain point, isn't providing such wild claims the courtesy of a Fact Check actually propagating it further? Much as your attempted debunking of "the Pfizer vaccine isn't actually FDA approved" resulted in people continuing to push the claim in the comments.

Expand full comment
Reply
5 replies
Alex DeLarge
(Banned)
Oct 20, 2021

I'm sure there are also obscure whackadoo rumors about people dropping dead from covid because they weren't vaxxed. But Zuckerberg isn't going to pay anyone to debunk those stories.

Expand full comment
Reply
1 reply
7 more comments…
TopNewCommunity

No posts

Ready for more?

© 2022 The Dispatch
Privacy ∙ Terms ∙ Collection notice
Publish on Substack Get the app
Substack is the home for great writing