A passenger passed away on a Turkish airline flight bound for California, and the whereabouts of the body remain unclear.
As reported by the Aviation Blog, on July 13, while en route from Istanbul to San Francisco, the flight encountered a serious medical emergency. Passengers and crew were alerted, and there was a plan to divert to Keflavik Airport in Iceland after the unfortunate incident. However, the decision was made to continue toward North America instead of making an emergency landing outside U.S. airspace.
This seems to be because, when a passenger dies mid-flight, the urgency to land decreases, allowing crew members more time to find a suitable airport for their landing.
Upon entering U.S. airspace, the flight opted to land at Chicago O’Hare International Airport, a major hub that offers the medical facilities needed for such emergencies, according to the report.
The exact cause of the medical emergency is still not known. Once the flight landed, the body was taken off the plane by the airport authorities, with responsibility then shifting to the Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office.
However, a spokesperson from the medical examiner’s office indicated that there’s no record of receiving a body from this particular flight, leaving questions about the situation unanswered.
Turkish Airlines’ station manager confirmed the diversion to Chicago and mentioned that the passenger’s body was eventually sent on another flight to San Francisco, though further details were not provided.
Currently, the location of the passenger’s body is still up in the air.
The report mentions that medical emergencies occur about once for every 600 flights, translating to approximately 16 per one million passengers, according to the CDC. Around three fatalities occur for every 1,000 emergencies—a grim statistic, though deaths during flights remain relatively rare.
Research has suggested that most in-flight deaths not related to crashes are from cardiac events, often aggravated by the stress of flying. For example, there was a recent incident involving an EasyJet flight where a passenger, suspected of suffering a cardiac arrest, unfortunately passed away shortly after takeoff.
Three fellow passengers, including a nurse, attempted CPR but were unable to revive the 67-year-old woman before landing.
