A former flight attendant has revealed the procedures that are followed onboard a commercial flight in the event of a passenger’s death.
While it’s a scenario no one wants to face, unfortunately, some travelers may encounter this distressing situation at some point.
This challenging circumstance also affects the flight crew, and one former flight attendant shared an account of what took place during such an incident.
Mandy Smith, who previously worked for Virgin Atlantic, spoke about the specific protocol to be followed in these unfortunate situations.
Despite sounding like a scene from a movie, these events do occur in reality.
“Thankfully, this hasn’t happened to me,” Smith explained in an episode of Honesty Box. “However, a friend of mine did experience a passenger passing away during a flight.
“Our procedure used to involve placing the deceased passenger in the bathrooms and locking them off.”
This practice was meant to provide privacy for the deceased while keeping them away from other passengers, but it had its drawbacks.
Smith mentioned: “When seated on the toilet, if rigor mortis set in, the person could become stuck in that position, making it difficult for them to fit into a coffin later on.”
Rigor mortis, which causes the stiffening of muscles and joints a few hours after death, can require additional effort from morticians to arrange a body suitably in a coffin.
This may involve manipulating the muscles and joints to reduce stiffness, akin to a massage.
To avoid these complications, it’s preferable to position the body flat to allow it to ‘set’ in a more manageable posture.
Smith continued: “Nowadays, we lay the body across a row of seats and aim to console their loved ones.
“It’s important to treat the deceased with dignity, covering them with blankets, and sometimes sectioning off the area with blankets affixed to the overhead bins, which is what I would likely do.”
The former flight attendant further explained: “If a passenger dies onboard, cabin crew are legally required to continue attempts at resuscitation until the passenger is officially declared deceased.
“In cases of accidents or heart attacks during the flight, we would keep performing CPR.
“However, if someone passes due to natural causes or other ailments, we wouldn’t need to intervene further.
“We’d need to alert ground services so that an ambulance or coroner is ready upon landing. Such situations wouldn’t typically result in an emergency landing, but rather a standard one if the death is confirmed.”