'Gulf pilot had heart attack'

'Gulf pilot had heart attack'

DUBAI (AFP): The British pilot of a Gulf Air Airbus A-320 which skidded off a runway at Abu Dhabi airport, leaving 86 passengers injured, had a heart attack during takeoff, an aviation source said yesterday.

The source, who declined to be identified, told AFP that the co-pilot of the plane was forced to grab the controls after the pilot, Simon Frank, suffered a heart attack and tried to abort the takeoff.

Abdallah Abdel Karim, the Bahrain-based public relations director for Gulf Air, denied the report.

Abu Dhabi civil aviation authorities have said a burst tire may have been the cause of the accident.