Passenger Death / Critical illness during flight
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Passenger Death / Critical illness during flight
Dear All,
Out of ignorance, what is the procedure if a passenger:
a) Dies in mid flight on a 12 hour intercontinental flight
b) Turns critically ill on a 12 hour intercontinental flight
Referring to point (a), if the passenger resides in the country you took off from, does the body just go back on the next flight back?
Referring to point (b), do the airlines have specific procedures in place or is it the captain's call to continue / land?
Any comments?
69
Out of ignorance, what is the procedure if a passenger:
a) Dies in mid flight on a 12 hour intercontinental flight
b) Turns critically ill on a 12 hour intercontinental flight
Referring to point (a), if the passenger resides in the country you took off from, does the body just go back on the next flight back?
Referring to point (b), do the airlines have specific procedures in place or is it the captain's call to continue / land?
Any comments?
69
Depends on the airline and situation of course.
But if the passenger is dead, then the situation is unlikely to get worse and you may as well continue to the desintation.
But if the passenger is dead, then the situation is unlikely to get worse and you may as well continue to the desintation.
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I thought the passnger isn't dead until you have landed unless you have a doc on board to pronounce it. Otherwise they are just person condition unknown until arrival.
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It also depends where you are when they pop their clogs. Some countries have more paperwork and waiting for the airlines, so it may suit the airline to say they died shortly after take-off, or whatever.
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As previously mentioned it is the Captains call wether to continue.
I do remember a Captain once asking for the poor soul to be declared dead in the ambulance rather than on the aircraft as this would have needed the coroner to attend and held up the turnround.
Did
I do remember a Captain once asking for the poor soul to be declared dead in the ambulance rather than on the aircraft as this would have needed the coroner to attend and held up the turnround.
Did
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I believe I read about a pax dying on a transatlantic BA flight recently, think the article mentioned that BA see about 12 deaths on board annually. Presumably such a "regular" occurrence would mean that any airline of a similar size and profile (hence a similar instance of occurence) would have some kind of standard procedure.
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We had a passenger die on one of our B757 flights northbound from Freetown / Sierra Leone to London Gatwick / UK.
For a while his condition seemed reasonable but it then suddenly deteriorated and we diverted to Malaga in southern Spain
Imho our Cabin Crew were total heroes, doing their utmost to save this passenger, including mouth-to-mouth / CPR, for the 25 minutes it took to get the aircraft to Malaga... as well as deal with all the other passengers and prep the cabin for landing. My hat goes off to them !
At Malaga the Paramedics were quick to board the aircraft, during which time the other passengers were instructed to remain in their seats. The Paramedics made a deduction that chap was beyond resuscitation.
A short while later (20 minutes?) a Doctor attended the aircraft and declared the passenger 'clinically' dead.
Some time after this (about 1 hour?) the Coroner attended the aircraft and declared the passenger 'legally' dead.
Nb. By this point we'd moved all the other passengers into the terminal building.
Once these two formalities (i.e. Doctor & Coroner) had been completed the deceased was placed into a body bag, strapped to a stretcher, and removed from the aircraft by some burly chaps.
We all then helped to tidy the cabin, re-boarded the pax, and then proceeded on our way to Gatwick. The total delay to our originally scheduled arrival in Gatwick was only about 3 hours.
Nb. Along the way there was a report to make to the Spanish and British Police, plus filling on of an ASR / MOR.
On arrival at Gatwick we got a call from the Coroner in Malaga who informed us that they'd already conducted the autopsy and that the reason for death was that some of the bags of cocaine in the passenger’s stomach had burst!
The chap was travelling on a Nigerian passport, not that that has any particular inference, other than that the Spanish authorities accepted the body regardless, and imho the handling of this incident by the Spanish authorities was very good !
For a while his condition seemed reasonable but it then suddenly deteriorated and we diverted to Malaga in southern Spain
Imho our Cabin Crew were total heroes, doing their utmost to save this passenger, including mouth-to-mouth / CPR, for the 25 minutes it took to get the aircraft to Malaga... as well as deal with all the other passengers and prep the cabin for landing. My hat goes off to them !
At Malaga the Paramedics were quick to board the aircraft, during which time the other passengers were instructed to remain in their seats. The Paramedics made a deduction that chap was beyond resuscitation.
A short while later (20 minutes?) a Doctor attended the aircraft and declared the passenger 'clinically' dead.
Some time after this (about 1 hour?) the Coroner attended the aircraft and declared the passenger 'legally' dead.
Nb. By this point we'd moved all the other passengers into the terminal building.
Once these two formalities (i.e. Doctor & Coroner) had been completed the deceased was placed into a body bag, strapped to a stretcher, and removed from the aircraft by some burly chaps.
We all then helped to tidy the cabin, re-boarded the pax, and then proceeded on our way to Gatwick. The total delay to our originally scheduled arrival in Gatwick was only about 3 hours.
Nb. Along the way there was a report to make to the Spanish and British Police, plus filling on of an ASR / MOR.
On arrival at Gatwick we got a call from the Coroner in Malaga who informed us that they'd already conducted the autopsy and that the reason for death was that some of the bags of cocaine in the passenger’s stomach had burst!
The chap was travelling on a Nigerian passport, not that that has any particular inference, other than that the Spanish authorities accepted the body regardless, and imho the handling of this incident by the Spanish authorities was very good !
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It has happened to me twice in my airline life.
Once when I was flying the CRJ, long ago. We arrive at the terminal and all but one passenger got off. The FA came up and told me, "This guy back here doesn't look very good." I turned in my seat and I could tell from there he was dead, but we called for the CFR folks anyway. I walked back to get a closer look and told the flight attendant he was doing a whole lot better now because he was dead. CFR showed up and carried him off so he could be pronounced DOA at the hospital because they knew we had to go. That was nice of them to do. Of course the FA freaked out and had to go home. We got a new FA and finished the day. The FO with me was another Army guy, and I'm sure it looked rather callous, but we sat in the cockpit and ate our sandwiches while the CFR people were removing the dead passenger. We certainly didn't want to miss out on our quick-turn lunch time.
Second time I was flying Narita to Kona in the 747 Classic. About four hours into it, a FA came up and said she was pretty sure an old lady had died. We continued to Kona, and the Coroner showed up at the same time the Paramedics did, which saved a lot of time.
Now, for the military side of my life, that's another story which will remain quiet for the time being.
Once when I was flying the CRJ, long ago. We arrive at the terminal and all but one passenger got off. The FA came up and told me, "This guy back here doesn't look very good." I turned in my seat and I could tell from there he was dead, but we called for the CFR folks anyway. I walked back to get a closer look and told the flight attendant he was doing a whole lot better now because he was dead. CFR showed up and carried him off so he could be pronounced DOA at the hospital because they knew we had to go. That was nice of them to do. Of course the FA freaked out and had to go home. We got a new FA and finished the day. The FO with me was another Army guy, and I'm sure it looked rather callous, but we sat in the cockpit and ate our sandwiches while the CFR people were removing the dead passenger. We certainly didn't want to miss out on our quick-turn lunch time.
Second time I was flying Narita to Kona in the 747 Classic. About four hours into it, a FA came up and said she was pretty sure an old lady had died. We continued to Kona, and the Coroner showed up at the same time the Paramedics did, which saved a lot of time.
Now, for the military side of my life, that's another story which will remain quiet for the time being.
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I believe for legal purposes, the passenger should be 'rather ill' until seen by a medical person on the ground and assessed as definitely dead, having died after removal from the aircraft. Of course, the person taken ill on an ultra longhaul SIA flight could be assessed by the coroner, to have died from being deep frozen! However, unless critically ill, and it's believed better medical aid can be obtained on the ground, diversion is not necessary. There are varying operator procedures in place for this eventuality. It's difficult on a full aeroplane to find a place for the deceased. I have heard of lavatories being blocked off, but the cabin crew would probably try and place a passenger to look asleep under blankets in a seat. The rest of it is largely a paperwork exercise.
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I believe I read about a pax dying on a transatlantic BA flight recently, think the article mentioned that BA see about 12 deaths on board annually. Presumably such a "regular" occurrence would mean that any airline of a similar size and profile (hence a similar instance of occurence) would have some kind of standard procedure.
Off the top of my head there is a specific (UK) CAA form that needs to be filled in if a passenger dies in flight. Same applies to a birth in flight.
Many larger airlines use the services of a Amercian company called Medlink who provide a fantastic service. Flight crews can liase with Medlink staff and get expert medical advice and advise on the best airfield to divert to if required. According to a friend of mine who has used the service once, they even arranged a ambulance to meet their aircraft on arrival!
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I'm a Dr. & base this reply on the information that I learned on a medical emergencies in flight course (hosted at Virgin, run by an anaesthetic from Winchester - http://www.ccat-training.org.uk/mef.htm) which I went to a couple of years ago.
I wish I could find the course handout.. it had these stats in...
(a) there are hundred deaths in flight annually.
not especially surprising given the global volume of air/pax traffic. Clearly, the airlines medical criteria to fly is their attempt to sieve out the folks who are likely to predictably become unwell in-flight, but it’s not fool-proof and relies on self disclosure [excepting those who clearly are too unwell to even make it too board and can be detected by non-medically trained ground staff].
From a UK perspective don't forget that certifying someone as dead is not the same as issuing a death certificate, for which several criteria must be met before a certificate can be issued. all unexpected deaths require referral to a coroner, who can then decide if a post-mortem is indicated to determine the cause of death
Anyway, the outcome of the course was that there is no obvious agreement on "where" a person dies if they are in-flight at the time of their death. The consensus was that a number of factors are likely to influence the decision:
- laws specific to the country of the flight's origin
- laws specific to the country of residence of the deceased
- "where" the death is considered to have occurred (i.e. the sovereign state in whose airspace the aircraft was at the time)
- where the aircraft lands (planned or diversion)
- how difficult it may be for all concerned to deal with the complications arising from the death - anecdotally a lot of deaths seem to occur once in the airspace of the intended destination...
b) this is operator specific and will depend on factors such as:
- operating procedures of that carrier
- availability of medical equipment on board
- availability of suitably qualified medical staff on board
- availability of a suitable airfield within sufficient proximity that a diversion is likely to effect the outcome of the illness
At the time (2005) Virgin were introducing on-board telemetry equipment so that basic objective measurements could be relayed to their contractor in the US. e.g.
- temp
- blood pressure
- pulse oximetry
- single-lead ECG
Their contract employed consultants from the local area to do shifts, were they would use information from cabin staff and the telemetry equipment to advise Virgin on the ‘best’ way of handing each medical problem. I recall their kit had no “company channel” for 2-way VHF comms, so all messages to the medical centre had to be relayed via the flight deck.
Their logic to this decision is that medically trained pax are very risk-adverse and will usually indicate a diversion is needed when their medical centre would suggest continuation.
I believe ICAO lay down minimum standards on the levels of medical equipment needed on board depending on the expected duration of flight (but others may know better)
I wish I could find the course handout.. it had these stats in...
(a) there are hundred deaths in flight annually.
not especially surprising given the global volume of air/pax traffic. Clearly, the airlines medical criteria to fly is their attempt to sieve out the folks who are likely to predictably become unwell in-flight, but it’s not fool-proof and relies on self disclosure [excepting those who clearly are too unwell to even make it too board and can be detected by non-medically trained ground staff].
From a UK perspective don't forget that certifying someone as dead is not the same as issuing a death certificate, for which several criteria must be met before a certificate can be issued. all unexpected deaths require referral to a coroner, who can then decide if a post-mortem is indicated to determine the cause of death
Anyway, the outcome of the course was that there is no obvious agreement on "where" a person dies if they are in-flight at the time of their death. The consensus was that a number of factors are likely to influence the decision:
- laws specific to the country of the flight's origin
- laws specific to the country of residence of the deceased
- "where" the death is considered to have occurred (i.e. the sovereign state in whose airspace the aircraft was at the time)
- where the aircraft lands (planned or diversion)
- how difficult it may be for all concerned to deal with the complications arising from the death - anecdotally a lot of deaths seem to occur once in the airspace of the intended destination...
b) this is operator specific and will depend on factors such as:
- operating procedures of that carrier
- availability of medical equipment on board
- availability of suitably qualified medical staff on board
- availability of a suitable airfield within sufficient proximity that a diversion is likely to effect the outcome of the illness
At the time (2005) Virgin were introducing on-board telemetry equipment so that basic objective measurements could be relayed to their contractor in the US. e.g.
- temp
- blood pressure
- pulse oximetry
- single-lead ECG
Their contract employed consultants from the local area to do shifts, were they would use information from cabin staff and the telemetry equipment to advise Virgin on the ‘best’ way of handing each medical problem. I recall their kit had no “company channel” for 2-way VHF comms, so all messages to the medical centre had to be relayed via the flight deck.
Their logic to this decision is that medically trained pax are very risk-adverse and will usually indicate a diversion is needed when their medical centre would suggest continuation.
I believe ICAO lay down minimum standards on the levels of medical equipment needed on board depending on the expected duration of flight (but others may know better)
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At LHR we used to, and I presume still do, have about 3 a month arrive dead.
Depending on if there is a doctor on board, they could have been prounounced as life being extinct, or common sense could have prevailed, and someone who was obviously dead was left alone and treated in as dignified way as possible.
The proccedure, irrespective was to have Port Health's doctor certify death on arrival. And after a quick look to make sure there were no suspcious circumstances, the Coranors Officer would arrange for the body to be removed to a morgue.
I must have dealt with 7 or 8 sudden deaths in my time at LHR, the bodies were stored in different places, from being strapped laying on a row of seats, to sat strapped in and covered over. One was placed in the galley on the top deck of a 747, which was a bit awkward when it came to removal of the body down the spiral staircase, rigour mortice having set in!
As far as the UK were concerned, if the cause of death was obvious, the coranor would authorise the repatriation of a forgien national and hold a 'paper' inquest. If the body was that of a UK National, or the cause of death was unknown, then the usual inquest would follow.
I went to a call to a sudden death on a Swiss aircraft once, which was waiting to depart, having got to the air bridge, I found the body wrapped in a sheet laying on the floor, and the aircraft pushing back, and no one else about!.....The crew were not amussed when they were told to get back on stand by ATC, and they were going no where until I had investigated things!
Depending on if there is a doctor on board, they could have been prounounced as life being extinct, or common sense could have prevailed, and someone who was obviously dead was left alone and treated in as dignified way as possible.
The proccedure, irrespective was to have Port Health's doctor certify death on arrival. And after a quick look to make sure there were no suspcious circumstances, the Coranors Officer would arrange for the body to be removed to a morgue.
I must have dealt with 7 or 8 sudden deaths in my time at LHR, the bodies were stored in different places, from being strapped laying on a row of seats, to sat strapped in and covered over. One was placed in the galley on the top deck of a 747, which was a bit awkward when it came to removal of the body down the spiral staircase, rigour mortice having set in!
As far as the UK were concerned, if the cause of death was obvious, the coranor would authorise the repatriation of a forgien national and hold a 'paper' inquest. If the body was that of a UK National, or the cause of death was unknown, then the usual inquest would follow.
I went to a call to a sudden death on a Swiss aircraft once, which was waiting to depart, having got to the air bridge, I found the body wrapped in a sheet laying on the floor, and the aircraft pushing back, and no one else about!.....The crew were not amussed when they were told to get back on stand by ATC, and they were going no where until I had investigated things!
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Hi,
I am currently doing my dissertation research into passenger death mid flight, and was hoping to find some people who have been involved in any way in an instance of passenger death or has any knowledge in the area and would like to enter into discussions with me on the issue.
If you feel this to be relevant to you, please contact me or post reply.
Thanks
I am currently doing my dissertation research into passenger death mid flight, and was hoping to find some people who have been involved in any way in an instance of passenger death or has any knowledge in the area and would like to enter into discussions with me on the issue.
If you feel this to be relevant to you, please contact me or post reply.
Thanks
