What happens if someone dies on a plane

Local funeral directors are immediately called to assist with handling the bodies. One of the most common questions related to passengers dying in an accidental plane crash is what happens to the body? The good news is this usually means instant, painless death. Though movies and TV usually show the passengers struggling to free themselves, this is highly unlikely.

Because the force of impact is so intense, most bodies are torn apart beyond recognition immediately. Additionally, after impact with the ground, there will likely be a fire causing even more damage. While all of this understandably sounds scary, everyone will be unconscious way before this point.

Investigators work closely with the funeral directors to help identify the deceased and reunite these bodies with their family members. Because funeral directors are such a large part of this process, some have come to be known as Air Disaster Funeral Coordinators since this role requires special considerations.

Still, the response team works diligently to reunite deceased loved ones with families using other identifiers like clothing, jewelry, and so on. The airline generally covers all costs associated with the burial or cremation. This is a difficult situation for any funeral director to find themselves in, and it just goes to show the importance of death care in emergencies.

Similarly, the professionals trained to care for the dead after a plane crash know how to ensure the deceased are reunited with loved ones. While dying at 30, feet might not be ideal, there are far worse ways to go. However unpleasant the subject may be, it's a reality numerous cabin crew, pilots, and passengers face every year. How the crew reacts to the situation and the procedures they follow vary based on the events leading up to the death. Policies can also vary by company.

Generally, the flight crew and ground control will work together to come up with a plan of action that's tailored to each specific situation.

According to Smith, author of the book "Cockpit Confidential," some of the factors that can affect whether a flight diverts include the location of the flight, the events leading up to the passenger's death — i.

In cases where there is a medical emergency, some airlines allow flight attendants to communicate directly with medical professionals on the ground while others require ground communication to run through the pilots. Once the passenger is determined to have died, the cabin crew will first work to store the body in a respectful manner and, if possible, away from other passengers. If there is room, the body will likely be placed in unoccupied rows of seats or in first class where there is more empty space.

Sheena Marie, another flight attendant on TikTok, said deceased passengers were typically covered with a blanket. Passengers would then be let off the plane before medical professionals board to remove the body, and the plane taken out of service.

An airline passenger has previously described what happened when her husband passed away on a long-haul Air New Zealand flight between Los Angeles and Auckland.

The nickname allows transport services or undertakers to call about a dead body without anyone overhearing, and the name comes from the crates that are used to transport the bodies. The Alcor Stabilisation and Transport Manual explains that Jim Wilson Trays are often used as the shipping container and are packed with ice to preserve the human remains.

Stateside, year-old Brittany Oswell died two years ago after having a pulmonary embolism on a flight from Hawaii to Texas; her family is suing American Airlines because the pilot failed to divert for the medical emergency. Other recent cases have included a year old woman who died while flying to New Delhi from London, and an American Airlines pilot who had a medical emergency in during the final phase of landing in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

The captain managed to land the plane successfully, but attempts to revive the other pilot failed. Despite the media fascination with in-flight deaths, "death onboard a commercial aircraft is actually quite rare," says Dr. Claudia Zegans, associate medical director of Global Rescue , which focuses on medical emergencies while traveling. Yet the intensity of the experience, in such constrained quarters, magnifies the effect for passengers and staff involved, says Dr.

Paulo Alves, MedAire 's global medical director, who previously worked as the medical director of Brazil's Varig Airlines.