When somebody dies on an airplane

[Ryan Coke]

Hey Ken, I have been fortunate that I havent had any deaths on one of my flights (H&L, 3...really!!), several medical emergencies but nothing super serious. Generally most of the info has been covered here, and there are lots of variables.

As said, FA's can't pronounce a death and have to continue working to destination. You can imagine doing CPR for hours would be grueling. A dr can pronounce, but generally they would prefer not to as well, it is much simpler to deal with once landed and local services handle it.

A big factor would be how close they were to destination, and of course the nature of the condition. If it was very obvious that here was no chance for resuscitation and they were hours from a suitable alternate airport, then I could see your situation.

As mentioned, Westjet and some other airlines utilize a specialized service where we use on board sat phones to connect to doctors that take the responsibility for diagnosing and determining best course of action. Of course we always try to obtain medical assistance onboard as well, but med link has the final call.

As for the cost, while it is real and significant, no reputable airline would risk a life due to cost. We want to avoid unnecessary diversions due to non critical ailments, but if someone needs urgent care we go to the best place for it, ASAP.

Hope that helps.

[Kybosh]

When somebody dies on an airplane, an angel gets their wings.

[First Lady]

Originally Posted by Hack&Lube

I've actually been on at least 3 flights where someone has died

I hope you fly a LOT.

If not, you should be required to warn your fellow passengers.

[Hack&Lube]

Originally Posted by First Lady

I hope you fly a LOT.

If not, you should be required to warn your fellow passengers.

I don't fly a lot. Maybe once every 4 years. I think a lot of times, these things are unreported to other passengers unless there has been some disturbance or some announcement for medical assistance.

[Barnet Flame]

Originally Posted by Hack&Lube

I don't fly a lot. Maybe once every 4 years. I think a lot of times, these things are unreported to other passengers unless there has been some disturbance or some announcement for medical assistance.

So how do you become aware of these events. Apologies if you've said you're a doctor earlier in the thread.

Btw, please stay away from the London - Dublin and London - Calgary routes in Feb, March and April.

[Hack&Lube]

Originally Posted by Barnet Flame

So how do you become aware of these events. Apologies if you've said you're a doctor earlier in the thread.

Btw, please stay away from the London - Dublin and London - Calgary routes in Feb, March and April.

On my last Calgary to London flight it was because they were calling over the announcement system for medical assistance in the middle of the night and everyone noticed some commotion in the forward section so they announced the reason for it when we were about to land that a man had died overnight due to a medical complication. That's probably up to the discretion of the Captain as well. I'm sure a lot of the time, they don't want to alarm passengers or the Captain just decides not to announce it for whatever reason he has.

On my other flight to Asia, there was a huge delay with getting passengers off the plane and the Captain explained he felt compelled to give us the explanation and that was because the plane had met an ambulance and medical crew on the tarmac so we had to wait an hour or two on the plane after landing before we could disembark because of the medical team and eventual moving of the body.

[Barnet Flame]

Thanks, and I'm serious, stay off those routes. Though if you must, make it YYC to LHR.

[MrMastodonFarm]

Hack&Lube&Dexter

[troutman]

Rick: All right. Well, I know what I gotta do. We're in a 200-foot aluminum tube and we're 30,000 feet in the air. And any one of those slimy little pieces of shat can trip a circuit or a relay or a hydraulic and this bird goes down faster than a Thai hooker. So my job is to keep LAX informed on how totally screwed we are, and then find some way to keep this mother in the sky another two hours. Figure that out.

[Ryan Coke]

Originally Posted by Hack&Lube

I don't fly a lot. Maybe once every 4 years. I think a lot of times, these things are unreported to other passengers unless there has been some disturbance or some announcement for medical assistance.

It really doesn't happen that often. And if you fly that seldom, I think you should be put on he 'do not fly' list.