The pilot of the Buenos Aires-Rome flight falls ill and is treated by the Perugia football team doctor.

A flight departing Buenos Aires on Tuesday evening and bound for Rome was forced to return just hours after takeoff due to a medical emergency. One of the pilots fell ill while the plane was flying over the Atlantic, forcing the crew to turn around.

Also on board was the Perugia football team, returning from a pre-season training camp in Ezeiza, Argentina. Team doctor Alessandro Cirimbilli was the first to respond after the alarm was raised by the crew, entering the cockpit to provide first aid.

According to the reconstruction, the Aerolíneas Argentinas plane made a U-turn about three hours after departure, while it was in the skies over the Atlantic Ocean, off the coast of northeastern Brazil, near Rio de Janeiro. The pilot reported a severe headache, and the airline decided to return to Buenos Aires as a precaution, also considering the many hours of flight still remaining to reach Rome.

The Perugia team's new arrival at Fiumicino is scheduled for Thursday, July 31st.