When I was a flight attendant, I had a person die on my flight.
We were 4 hours into a 5.5 hour flight from Hawaii to Vancouver.
We had a doctor on board, who after 35 minutes of us working on the passenger, declared him dead. We could have landed before getting to Vancouver, but because the doctor made officially "called" the passengers death, there was no point really, and I think cost, as someone else mentioned, also had a large part of the decision to carry on.
Many airlines also equip their planes with Satellite phones that connect directly with medical personnel. Those medical people assess the situation and many times walk you through what needs to be done (with or without a doctor on board).
If the medical link doctor determines that the passenger would benefit by diverting the plane, it is done. No questions asked. If they speak with a doctor on board, as in my case, who had already declared death, then the plane continues on to it final destination.
Lots of different scenarios that could have happened, but know that if there is ever a chance that the life can be saved, the airlines will always divert, and cost is never an issue.
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