Flight attendant reveals procedures in event of death on plane

World

Published: 2021-02-10 10:54

Last Updated: 2024-03-28 08:17


Flight attendant reveals procedures in event of death on plane
Flight attendant reveals procedures in event of death on plane

On social media platform 'Tik Tok' Tuesday, a flight attendant Sheena Marie explained what happens if a person dies in the sky.

She explained that in her experience, dead passengers are usually left where they are, noting that flight attendants are not permitted to move the body of the deceased,"we will keep that body in its place." 

"If a passenger has a heart attack and dies, and there is nothing we can do about it, and we cannot start CPR, we wait until we reach our destination."

If there is no other space on the plane for the deceased, then he or she may not be moved from their seat until the flight lands.

However, if there is enough space on board, such as the a row of seats which are completely empty of passengers, then the body can be moved there and "covered with a blanket," adding that the body needs to be buckled or strapped in for safety.

She said that flight attendants will take an individual's pulse to confirm that they have passed away prior to moving the body to an empty row if there is room.

Once the plane lands, passengers are allowed to leave the plane before specialist doctors get on the plane to examine and remove the deceased. Interestingly, when a death occurs on a plane, it is not officially announced until the plane lands, as only medical professionals can determine the time of death. 

Family members of the deceased are then contacted.

"There is not much we could do," said Marie, indicating that the flight crew, in this scenario, would try to improve matters and comfort those sitting near the deceased.

Marie said that if there's a chance of revival, flight attendants will ask other passengers if there is a doctor on board, noting that any board-certified doctor is permitted to administer treatment.

"We have enough medical equipment on the plane to do surgery," she added.

The cabin crew will also alert the pilot to the situation, who can contact an on-call doctor service for airplanes' MedLink, on-call doctors for airlines if there are no doctors on board. In phone calls, the MedLink doctors can assist the crew members with what to do.