The Moscow-bound passenger plane with 90 people on board was forced to change course and make an emergency landing after its pilot suddenly felt sick and fainted while the plane was descending.

The Montenegro Airlines flight YM610, carrying 85 passengers and five crew members, took off from Tivat on Wednesday morning and headed to Moscow’s Domodedovo airport. But when descending the Fokker 100 mid-size aircraft declared an emergency and was diverted to Kaluga, a city south of Moscow, some 135km away from its original destination.

The diversion was due to a health emergency among the crew. “The first pilot fainted” mid-flight, Russian media reported, citing emergency services.

Sources told TASS news agency that the incident happened after the plane started to descend as it was approaching Moscow.

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The landing was a success, the airport confirmed, with all passengers and crew members bussed to the terminal. Several ambulances were rushed to the scene. The pilot regained consciousness after the landing.

Earlier reports suggested that the pilot experienced a heart attack but medical officials did not confirm this. The man “does not require hospitalization and will be sent back to the airport,” the spokesperson for the hospital said.

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