Two Cathay pilots lose eyesight in separate flights, one over Manila —report

Two Cathay Pacific Airways captains lost their eyesight on separate flights earlier this year, prompting an investigation by Hong Kong's aviation authority.

A report by the South China Morning Post said one of the incidents happened over Manila in the CX170 flight from Perth to Hong Kong on February 21.

A preliminary report by the Air Accident Investigation Authority reportedly showed that the captain suffered impaired vision and difficulty breathing.

The flight was over the Philippine capital with 270 passengers and 13 crew members when the first officer took command of the aircraft around 6 a.m.

The flight landed in Hong Kong at 7:16 a.m.

A similar incident occurred on January 26 when the captain of Flight CX 583 between Sapporo and Hong Kong suddenly lost his vision for some 30 minutes.

The Hong Kong aviation authority considered both incidents serious and is looking into the circumstances to determine possible causes.

A spokesperson for Cathay was quoted in the article as saying that the airline was cooperating with the invetsigation. —NB, GMA News