Airliners-India.com

karatecatman · Guest

http://business.guardian.co.uk/story/0,,2037272,00.html

Quote:
Travellers on a nine-hour overnight flight to Heathrow from Delhi last week were given an apology by the airline for any distress suffered ...

&

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,259500,00.html

Disturbing details.

stealthpilot · Member Joined: 19 Dec 2006 Posts: 2325 Location: BLR, DXB

This is a very touchy subject and although I sympathize with the first class passengers, I sympathize more with the dead woman’s family.
What can the airline do in a scenario like this? If the plane has empty seats great, you can move other passengers around. But if the flight is full then what? Can you stick a dead body in the toilet? Anything the airline staff does will be disrespectful and cause grief to someone.
IMHO I really do feel sorry for the first class passengers- I know it’s unsetting to fly in close proximity to a dead body. However I also think that’s a better option than leaving the body in economy class or sticking it in a toilet (if they could, that is)
If i were in first class I wouldn’t want to listen to the family crying the rest of the flight, they were obviously in shock- but how can the airline tell them to be quite in first class after something like this happens? I can't imagine the grief they went through.
And as for health concerns, a doctor pronounced the woman dead. So if the doctor said it was ok to keep the body in first class, I would follow his opinion and not the passengers.

Unfortunately things like this will continue to happen, and the crew can be helped out if the company has a specific way of dealing with these situations. Something like this affects everyone on the flight, even the crew. It might sound disrespectful or selfish, but the passengers who were most affected should be assisted in some way. The article said the BA staff told the pax to ‘deal with it’ ….. probably not the best thing to say but remember the crews are human, and under a lot of stress.
The first class passengers don’t have to be compensated, but I think they should be in some way. Heck, a personalized hand written note apologizing for the situation might be enough.
_________________
eP007

HAWK21M · Posted: Tue Mar 20, 2007 8:26 am Post subject:

Its better to Apoligize later than seek prior permission Smile

regds
MEL
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Think of the Brighter side !!!

malQ · Posted: Tue Mar 20, 2007 11:01 am Post subject:

I would think that the crew could either divert to attempt to revive. Or they could carry body-bags on board and store in the crew rest spaces.

Alternately, galley service from one galley can be stopped, and the body laid to rest there with curtains drawn.

To belt a dead body up, even on a full flight, is something that needs to be fixed.

Nimish · Posted: Tue Mar 20, 2007 11:51 am Post subject:

Is there an international standard on dealing with such situations? How does our own AI deal with such a situation on a long haul flight?

maut3000 · Member Joined: 14 Mar 2007 Posts: 160 Location: Mumbai

karatecatman · Guest

And also made a mess of it.
The (Russian )pilot forgot to inform the ground staff and the unfortunate man came out along with the rest of the luggage on the carousal.
Passengers were shell shocked.
Aircraft was Air India's Neelambari (777)

karatecatman · Guest

Nimish · Posted: Tue Mar 20, 2007 2:29 pm Post subject:

PlaneObsessed · Member Joined: 19 Dec 2006 Posts: 58 Location: SEA

karatecatman · Guest

This is the report:

A major scare was created at Birmingham Airport when baggage handlers unloaded a dead passenger body along with luggage from an Air India aircraft.

The body was of a passenger — 82-year-old Sucha Singh — who had suffered a heart attack on board and was pronounced dead in Bucharest, where the plane had landed for giving the passenger emergency help. Passengers were in for a huge shock when the body was sent out along with luggage onto the carousal.

This led to a delay in clearing the other luggage and passengers were left stranded for hours without their baggage, the Birmingham Airport manager has said. There were even attempts to register it as a murder case.

An Air India spokesperson at Birmingham has blamed it on communication gap between the airline and UK authorities.
Mumbai-Birmingham-Toronto flight AI 187, Air India Boeing 777 Neelambari was on its way to Birmingham when the passenger suffered a heart attack and the flight was diverted to Bucharest after cabin crew couldn't handle the situation after basic medical care. The Chief Airhostess Ms. Rema Bhasin then alerted the pilot Capt. Veseline Ko of a possible diversion.

Doctors at the airport pronounced the passenger dead on arrival, and Romanian authorities even issued a death certificate. The pilot then decided to put the body in the hold as other passengers inside the flight would not have been comfortable being near it. The body was put in a plastic casket and stowed in the luggage hold, an Air India spokesperson at Birmingham has said.

But when the aircraft landed at Birmingham Airport on December 21, the Russian pilot, Capt. Ko, forgot to inform the authorities and left the airport for the crew hotel without reporting the incident.
Air India however stands by its stance that baggage handlers were informed about the "special cargo".
The 56-year-old pilot has been temporarily grounded after being quizzed by police following the incident on Thursday. Officers arrived to arrest the pilot on suspicion of causing a public nuisance by forgetting about the body. A West Midlands Police spokeswoman has said he was arrested and questioned but later released without charge and no further action will be taken.

Kurapati Row, regional manager for Air India, has said there was some surprise among the baggage handlers as there was not enough time to inform everyone about the body, but we had spoken to their supervisors who were aware of what had happened. The pilot was not aware he would be needed. He will not be reprimanded.

stealthpilot · Member Joined: 19 Dec 2006 Posts: 2325 Location: BLR, DXB

the_380 · Posted: Thu Mar 22, 2007 1:37 pm Post subject:

Nimish · Posted: Fri Mar 23, 2007 12:31 pm Post subject:

stealthpilot · Member Joined: 19 Dec 2006 Posts: 2325 Location: BLR, DXB

the_380 · Posted: Sat Mar 24, 2007 1:55 pm Post subject: