Passenger Dies On American Airlines Flight
02-24-2008, 10:34 PM
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Passenger Dies On American Airlines Flight
From Associated Press:
NEW YORK - An American Airlines passenger died after a flight attendant told her he couldn't give her any oxygen and then tried to help her with faulty equipment, including an empty oxygen tank, a relative said.
The airline confirmed the flight death and said medical professionals had tried to save the passenger, Carine Desir, who was returning home to Brooklyn from Haiti.
Desir, who had heart disease, died of natural causes, medical examiner's office spokeswoman Ellen Borakove said Sunday.
Desir had complained of not feeling well and being very thirsty on the Friday flight from Port-au-Prince after she ate a meal, according to Antonio Oliver, a cousin who was traveling with her and her brother Joel Desir. A flight attendant gave her water, he said.
A few minutes later, Desir said she was having trouble breathing and asked for oxygen, but a flight attendant twice refused her request, Oliver said Sunday in a telephone interview.
After the flight attendant refused to administer oxygen to Desir, she became distressed, pleading, "Don't let me die," Oliver recalled.
Other passengers aboard Flight 896 became agitated over the situation, he said, and the flight attendant, apparently after phone consultation with the cockpit, tried to administer oxygen from a portable tank and mask, but the tank was empty.
Two doctors and two nurses were aboard and tried to administer oxygen from a second tank, which also was empty, Oliver said.
Desir was put on the floor, and a nurse tried CPR, to no avail, Oliver said. A "box," possibly a defibrillator, also was applied but didn't function effectively, he said.
"I cannot believe what is happening on the plane," he said, sobbing. "She cannot get up, and nothing on the plane works."
Oliver said he then asked for the plane to "land right away so I can get her to a hospital," and the pilot agreed to divert to Miami, 45 minutes away. But during that time, Desir died, Oliver said.
"Her last words were, 'I cannot breathe,'" he said.
Desir, 44, was pronounced dead by one of the doctors, Joel Shulkin, and the flight continued to Kennedy International Airport without stopping in Miami, with the woman's body moved to the floor of the first-class section and covered with a blanket, Oliver said.
American Airlines spokeswoman Sonja Whitemon wouldn't comment Sunday on Oliver's claims of faulty medical equipment.
"Flight attendants are trained for medical emergencies," Whitemon told NBC News. "I have no doubt they did everything in their power to help the passenger during the flight."
Shulkin, through his attorney, Justin Nadeau, declined to comment on the incident out of respect for Desir's family.
American Airlines, a unit of AMR Corp. and based in Fort Worth, Texas, is the largest domestic airline.
NEW YORK - An American Airlines passenger died after a flight attendant told her he couldn't give her any oxygen and then tried to help her with faulty equipment, including an empty oxygen tank, a relative said.
The airline confirmed the flight death and said medical professionals had tried to save the passenger, Carine Desir, who was returning home to Brooklyn from Haiti.
Desir, who had heart disease, died of natural causes, medical examiner's office spokeswoman Ellen Borakove said Sunday.
Desir had complained of not feeling well and being very thirsty on the Friday flight from Port-au-Prince after she ate a meal, according to Antonio Oliver, a cousin who was traveling with her and her brother Joel Desir. A flight attendant gave her water, he said.
A few minutes later, Desir said she was having trouble breathing and asked for oxygen, but a flight attendant twice refused her request, Oliver said Sunday in a telephone interview.
After the flight attendant refused to administer oxygen to Desir, she became distressed, pleading, "Don't let me die," Oliver recalled.
Other passengers aboard Flight 896 became agitated over the situation, he said, and the flight attendant, apparently after phone consultation with the cockpit, tried to administer oxygen from a portable tank and mask, but the tank was empty.
Two doctors and two nurses were aboard and tried to administer oxygen from a second tank, which also was empty, Oliver said.
Desir was put on the floor, and a nurse tried CPR, to no avail, Oliver said. A "box," possibly a defibrillator, also was applied but didn't function effectively, he said.
"I cannot believe what is happening on the plane," he said, sobbing. "She cannot get up, and nothing on the plane works."
Oliver said he then asked for the plane to "land right away so I can get her to a hospital," and the pilot agreed to divert to Miami, 45 minutes away. But during that time, Desir died, Oliver said.
"Her last words were, 'I cannot breathe,'" he said.
Desir, 44, was pronounced dead by one of the doctors, Joel Shulkin, and the flight continued to Kennedy International Airport without stopping in Miami, with the woman's body moved to the floor of the first-class section and covered with a blanket, Oliver said.
American Airlines spokeswoman Sonja Whitemon wouldn't comment Sunday on Oliver's claims of faulty medical equipment.
"Flight attendants are trained for medical emergencies," Whitemon told NBC News. "I have no doubt they did everything in their power to help the passenger during the flight."
Shulkin, through his attorney, Justin Nadeau, declined to comment on the incident out of respect for Desir's family.
American Airlines, a unit of AMR Corp. and based in Fort Worth, Texas, is the largest domestic airline.
02-25-2008, 01:53 AM
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May this passenger rest in peace.
Even if it isn't the reason she died, the faulty medical equipment is a significant issue and I will be shocked if it will not lead to a suit. However, it isn't the airlines fault she had a medical condition that led to her death and AMR didn't force her to get on an airplane with pre-existing heart disease.
Terrible things happen and people always are looking to place blame. As much as the family will want to blame AMR, I find them guilty of nothing. At most, they weren't able to help and that is a sad shame. Hopefully the company will take this tragedy to make sure that all emergency medical equipment aboard all of it's aircraft are in proper working order to be in a better position to save the next passenger. If AMR doesn't, then I'm sure the FAA will.
Even if it isn't the reason she died, the faulty medical equipment is a significant issue and I will be shocked if it will not lead to a suit. However, it isn't the airlines fault she had a medical condition that led to her death and AMR didn't force her to get on an airplane with pre-existing heart disease.
Terrible things happen and people always are looking to place blame. As much as the family will want to blame AMR, I find them guilty of nothing. At most, they weren't able to help and that is a sad shame. Hopefully the company will take this tragedy to make sure that all emergency medical equipment aboard all of it's aircraft are in proper working order to be in a better position to save the next passenger. If AMR doesn't, then I'm sure the FAA will.
02-25-2008, 01:59 AM
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It's a sad story. While a lawyer's first line of defense will likely be whether the woman was "fit for travel"; having standard equipment not working correctly is not a card you want to have to play. In any case, it will be quite a time consuming hassle for the flight attendants involved.
02-25-2008, 04:33 AM
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I believe you can't be pronounced dead without a doctor, and apparently one was on board and had a very important appointment in New York...
Reminds me of the time I was two-leg commuting home from JFK after returning from Europe. I had gotten one of the last seats on the Mad Dog, and, of course, it was a middle one. I was tired, sweaty, and completely fed up with New Yorkers before we even pushed back. After level-off, I deftly waited until the beverage cart was just about to pass my row before getting up to take a whiz in the back, so that I would be stranded there for at least a few minutes to walk around and stretch.
While I was waiting, I noticed that one of the lavatories had been "Occupied" the entire time I had been standing back there, and nobody had gone in or out. It occurred to me that some blue-hair might be inside having a coronary. "Better mention this to a flight attendant," I thought. Then I checked my watch. "Too close to Charlotte right now. Better wait until we get nearer to ATL so they don't divert," was the reply from the other voice inside my head...
Reminds me of the time I was two-leg commuting home from JFK after returning from Europe. I had gotten one of the last seats on the Mad Dog, and, of course, it was a middle one. I was tired, sweaty, and completely fed up with New Yorkers before we even pushed back. After level-off, I deftly waited until the beverage cart was just about to pass my row before getting up to take a whiz in the back, so that I would be stranded there for at least a few minutes to walk around and stretch.
While I was waiting, I noticed that one of the lavatories had been "Occupied" the entire time I had been standing back there, and nobody had gone in or out. It occurred to me that some blue-hair might be inside having a coronary. "Better mention this to a flight attendant," I thought. Then I checked my watch. "Too close to Charlotte right now. Better wait until we get nearer to ATL so they don't divert," was the reply from the other voice inside my head...
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