I’m an airline pilot – we have very strict & surprising rules about passengers who die onboard
A VETERAN pilot has revealed the tricky and surprising situation that unfolds when tragedy strikes on a plane.
Doug Morris, a long-time Canadian captain lifted the lid on what happens when a passenger dies mid-flight and the complicated steps the cabin crew have to take.
The pilot has spent 35 years in the sky spent mostly on an Air Canada Dreamliner but now has been busy writing his memoir: This Is Your Captain Speaking - Stories from the Flight Deck.
The book is filled with secrets and quirks of the job, but also sheds light on the "extremely sensitive topic" of what happens when a life is lost mid-flight.
Morris writes: "Many think aeroplanes are filled with cheerful passengers flying on an annual pilgrimage to all-inclusive Caribbean meccas.
"But truth be told, many are travelling to attend funerals or seek medical treatment, and some are flying back to their roots to spend their last days."
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The experienced flyer talks through the death protocol, which starts by contacting authorities immediately about a "presumed death on board".
Surprisingly, he revealed that the word "presumed" is used by many airports who consider deceased passengers not strictly dead until they have landed.
"Airports like London Heathrow deem that the person hasn’t died until the port authority doctor certifies the death.
"Only a licensed physician can pronounce death; otherwise it is deemed 'apparent'," he explains.
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Meanwhile, Morris exposes how flight attendants are tasked with the gruelling job of moving the body and looking after those sat around the deceased passenger.
He writes: "This is yet another part of their job where they go above and beyond, as it is immensely stressful for everyone."
And it comes with a whole host of issues. "If possible, passengers are displaced, but remember, most flights are full. Or, if possible, the body is relocated."
In the grim case of neither options being available, "the body is covered with a blanket up to the neck, the seat is reclined, eye shades are used, the seat belt is fastened, and pillows are used for padding."
The seasoned pilot also notes that all cabin crew receive specialist training and all planes are stocked with oxygen and a defibrillator.
There is one consolation though, Morris says. "For all my medical situations, there always seems to be a doctor (or highly trained medical person) on board.
"Maybe even three or more. Doctors sure travel to a lot of conferences, luckily for the sick passengers and the crew."
However, the saga doesn't stop there as the International Air Transport Association state the very strict protocol that follows landing.
Flight attendants, the rules say, must "disembark other passengers first and make sure the family members stay with the body".
The body cannot be disembarked "until the proper local authority has arrived to take care of the body and that ground personnel are available to assist the family members".
Does the flight continue when someone dies? Morris says likely no.
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"I have diverted to a few places under their recommendation, but I've also kept the flight going most times, based on their expert findings".
Keeping the flight on-track to its destination is a "saviour for everyone because there is nothing easy about 'pulling over to the side of the road' in an airliner".