No, a vaccinated Delta pilot didn’t die mid-flight and force an emergency landing

Social media posts are sharing a claim that suggests a pilot with Delta Air Lines died during a flight as a result of receiving a COVID-19 vaccine. 

"Vaxxed Delta pilot dies in-flight, emergency landing required," reads one headline on an Oct. 11 blog post that cites "multiple sources," who are not named. The pilot who supposedly died "within the last two weeks" also is not named.  

Delta told PolitiFact that’s because this isn’t accurate. 

This post was flagged as part of Facebook’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Facebook.)

"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," the company said in a statement. "All of these allegations are false. The pandemic has been an incredibly tragic time for many, and our hearts go out to the hundreds of thousands of families who have passed away from the horrific virus." 

Featured Fact-check

Facebook posts

stated on March 27, 2024 in Facebook posts

The ship that struck the Baltimore bridge was controlled by a Chinese company.

We found no evidence to support the claims in the blog post. There are no news reports of a Delta flight making an emergency landing within the past two weeks, much less because he died after getting vaccinated. 

Searching the Aviation Global Incident Map, a website that tracks aviation incidents and accidents, we found several emergency landings on commercial flights between Sept. 26 and Oct. 11, when the blog was published, but none involving a Delta flight. 

And the Federal Aviation Administration told Lead Stories that it found no evidence of a Delta flight making an emergency landing due to the death of a pilot. 

We rate this post False.