A 45 year old Ryanair pilot has been found dead in his car in the staff car park at Malaga airport after he failed to report for duty. A colleague said that he never missed a flight in 15 years, so he knew something was wrong.
Captain Jouke Schrale, known as Jake to his friends, is believed to have committed suicide just hours before he was scheduled to pilot flight FR1915 from Malaga to Brussels South Charleroi in the morning of 3 August.
Flight FR1915 took off with one hour delay after another pilot was scrambled.
Jake Schrale, originally from The Netherlands, has been living in Mijas near Malaga with his Belgian partner Jessica since 2016. Earlier he was base captain at Charleroi for some 10 years.
A Ryanair spokesperson said today “His colleagues are in deep shock. We offer our deepest sympathy.”
The Aviation24.be team also expresses its condolences to his family and friends. Blue skies forever, Jake!
If you have extra questions on suicide, please contact a crisis line in one of these countries: list of suicide crisis lines, (wikipedia)
