At 7:59 p.m. on Sat., Nov. 19, Captain Patrick Ford collapsed at the controls of his American Eagle Embraer 175 – only seconds after the 76-seat jet had left the runway in Chicago.

Among pilots who resisted mRNA Covid vaccines – a small but vocal minority – Ford’s death has also thrown into question possible cardiac side effects from the shots. American and Envoy declined to disclose if Ford had been vaccinated or boosted. But most pilots are vaccinated, following heavy government and airline pressure in the summer and fall of 2021.

Pilots at American have also noted a sharp increase in disability filings since last summer, although no one has yet directly connected those to the mRNA shots.

alexberenson A newly hired American Airlines regional jet pilot collapsed just after takeoff in Chicago on Saturday night