As a former voluntaty prametic with the RED CROSS I feel disgusted with the attitude with which these organisations are working. If anybody, who is trained in first aid / CPR and called themself a professionals is NOT giving assistance, he/she should be charged and feel the full power of the law (manslaughter or whatever is appropriate).

I think you got it in one there "IBIS"

Er hello? I think I few people need to pull ther heads out of there r soles here, starting with Caulfield! If I'm not mistaken the Yemen is one of the most backwards countries in the Middle East, and that whole region is pretty backwards. Somehow I doubt the poor guy would receive better treatment in the third world. Nobody here knows the facts of the case and to cast aspersions on the professionalism of the BA paramedics based on hearsay alone is unfair. Do you know for a fact that these BA paramedics even got the message about the incident or its gravity? I suppose you think they just went back to doing the crossword and had a good laugh about it!

charliecossie:

I'm certainly not an Anti-BA ****!!!
I'm just highlighting what happened at LHR and should the BA paramedics attended, the poor Capt might have had the chance to thank them for saving his life.

I dont wish this to happen to anyone but just picture yourself in his shoes!

any call that is made for an ambulance at LHR is relayed to BA medics too and they have blue lights which give them priority access at security gates and over the aprons and maneuvering area too.

BA do own an ambulance, but it is based at the engineering base, which is several miles from the terminals. It is required by UK Health and Safety rules, due to the large number of people working in the area, and the type of work that they do.
Although primarily for BA employees, they will respond to any emergency when requested to do so. Any incident requiring emergency assistance is co-ordinated by the BAA and the London Ambulance Service. They assess the availability and response times of the various facilities that are available and react accordingly. If they decide to utilise the BA ambulance, then that facility must be immediately replaced by other resources.
I gather that in this case it was decided that the fastest reponse, considering the location and the facilities available, was by the London Ambulance Service.
I have spoken to the BA paramedics. They are professional, caring people, and are deeply offended by any suggestion that they would refuse to respond to anyone in need.

Airclues

It is always sad when a fellow pilot dies.

On the other issue, where I live (Europe) it is an offence not to give appropriate first aid if one is trained to do so. That is civil law and applies to everyone. If it turns out to be the case that the BA ambulance was nearby, was alerted and refused to attend that certainly would put BA in an awkward position!

I feel sure that a trained paramedic wouldn't refuse regardless of what his job description was!

Hold it people! Is it BA's duty to provide general ambulance care for the general public within Heathrow? I'd have thought it was BAA's duty or the local emergency services who benefit from the revenue Heathrow brings the local community. Why does BA get a slagging- it is not BA's responsibility? As far as I know, BA does not have an ambulance based in the central area that could have rapidly attended and it is not BA's responsibility to provide this sort of service!. Abuse all you like, but BA is a private airline!

BA a "Private airline"----the lad has gone daft, me thinks.

BA is a private airline and has no more obligation to provide medical services to the public than any other airline operating into LHR. Airclues post said it all- the ambulance is only dispatched at the request of the London Ambulance Service controllers, trained personnel who are more qualified to decide on the best course of action than a couple of BAA security guards. If LAS decide that one of their vehicles is better placed then who are any of us to argue? Case closed. Unless of course you think the LAS and BA are in cahoots now.

Isn't it sad that the death of a fellow aviator is used as an excuse for BA-bashing? Can a single ambulance, based several miles from the airport, really be expected to provide paramedic cover for one of the worlds biggest airports? I'm sure that everyone, including the captains own crew did all that they could, but unfortunately it is not always possible to save a heart attack victim. RIP

This thread is missing the point. A person has died of a heart attack, yet the debate is centred on a rumour. Please show more respect to the deceased and his family, and perhaps once the facts are established a more reasoned discussion can take place.

How horrible to die in a foreign country, far away from home.

R.I.P.

Don't the Fire and Rescue Service at LHR have paramedics?

No