A transport ministry panel will look into an incident Sunday in which the copilot of an All Nippon Airways flight from Narita to Singapore came down with an acute stomachache and the captain had to fly the aircraft alone.
Land, Infrastructure and Transport Ministry officials said Tuesday the Aircraft and Railway Accidents Investigation Commission will soon investigate ANA Flight 901.
The Boeing 777 carrying 186 passengers and crew members took off from Narita airport at around 4:40 p.m. Sunday. The 43-year-old copilot suffered the stomachache around 11 p.m. when the aircraft was about 660 km east-northeast of Singapore.
The 55-year-old captain flew the aircraft alone, landing at Singapore airport at around 11:50 p.m. The passengers were not told of the copilot's illness, the officials said.
The copilot was later hospitalized for a suspected acute pancreatitis, they said.
Japan's aviation law defines what happened as a serious incident that could have resulted in an accident. Airliners are normally required to be flown by two pilots.