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(CNN) --
A flight instructor died after going into midair cardiac arrest, but his copilot thought he was joking and only realized it after landing on the runway with the man slumped over his shoulder.
According to a recently released security report on the incident, the pilot thought the instructor was pretending to be asleep as they flew a circuit near Blackpool Airport in Lancashire, England, on June 29, 2022.
The qualified pilot had asked the instructor to accompany him aboard the four-person Piper PA-28 for safety reasons during windy conditions, according to the UK Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) report. in English).
Before takeoff, the two conversed normally as the pilot steered the plane to the runway, the pilot told the AAIB.
He said the instructor's last words were: "It looks good, there's nothing behind you."
Shortly after takeoff, the instructor's head snapped back.
Because the two drivers knew each other well, the co-driver thought his partner "was just pretending to take a nap" while he completed the circuit, according to the report.
As the plane turned around, the instructor slumped so that his head rested on the co-pilot's shoulder, but again the pilot still thought he was being pranked.
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After landing safely with the instructor still resting on his shoulder and unresponsive, the pilot realized something was wrong and alerted airport emergency services who were unable to revive the instructor.
The instructor, who had close to 9,000 hours of flight experience, was said to be in good spirits before his last flight.
"People who spoke to him on the morning of the incident said that he was cheerful and normal and there was no indication that he was feeling ill," the AAIB report said.
"The three people who had flown with him for the trial lesson just before the incident flight said that he seemed fine and nothing abnormal had happened."
The UK Civil Aviation Authority's medical department reviewed the incident and the instructor's medical history and concluded that, "based on the evidence provided, it is likely that the individual suffered cardiac arrest when the aircraft was taking off."
He was known to suffer from high blood pressure, but it was within regulatory limits.
The AAIB report concludes that while the instructor co-pilot was qualified on this occasion and was able to land the aircraft safely, the outcome could have been very different.
"No test or evaluation can provide a 100% reliable detection of cardiac problems" and "a balance must be struck between minimizing the risk to flight safety and providing a fair and reasonable medical evaluation of individuals," says the AAIB.
"The rarity of accidents caused by in-flight cardiac events suggests that this balance is currently correct."