A trainee easyJet pilot has died after being bitten by a mosquito on her forehead and developing a fatal infection.
Oriana Pepper, 21, was in Belgium for pilot training when the bite above her right eyebrow began to swell.
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According to an inquest, Oriana, of Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, was rushed to hospital on 7 July last year, given antibiotics and sent home.
Two days later, she was taken back by her boyfriend James Hall after she collapsed.
She died in hospital three days later on July 12, 2021.
Suffolk’s senior coroner Nigel Parsley said Oriana died “as a result of a serious infection caused by an insect bite to the forehead”.
An autopsy found that the 21-year-old died of a septic embolism as the infection spread to her brain.
Parsley spoke to Oriana Tristan and Louisa’s parents: “I’ve never seen a case like this.
“It’s just one of those things that’s such an unfortunate tragedy for a young lady who clearly had a wonderful career and a wonderful life ahead of her.”
In a statement during the inquest, Mr Pepper said his daughter “would love nothing more than to fly with her father and brother Oliver, also a commercial pilot in training”.
He said his daughter described flying as “an office in the sky among the clouds”.
He added: “She had met someone she loved, trained as a commercial pilot and fulfilled her dreams.”
Oriana’s friend James, whom she met at a flight school in Phoenix, Arizona, United Statessaid they were “bitten several times without any reaction” after arriving in Antwerp on May 20.
“We were assured by the locals that it was normal for the area and the time of year,” he said.
She reported pain in her eyebrow and a red streak after a bite, while also having a “dull ache” in her back.
Oriana was later taken to the emergency room where her swelling “made worse,” James said.
He said they were “advised that she had an infection, probably because of a mosquito bite” and given oral antibiotics.
On July 9, she collapsed and “was insane and had trouble talking”, which is when James drove her to A&E.
She later died at her bedside with her parents.
Her mother Louisa said the family had set up a “small scholarship” in memory of their late daughter “to encourage other female pilots” to enter the profession.
“That’s something positive about her life,” she said.