Women dies on American Airlines

[AV8OR]

http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/capress/0802 ... ht_death_1

Woman refused help by attendant dies on U.S. commercial flight to New York
Module body

Sun Feb 24, 9:06 PM

By The Associated Press

NEW YORK - An American Airlines passenger returning home from Haiti collapsed and died after a flight attendant told her he couldn't give her any oxygen and then tried to help her with an empty oxygen tank, a relative said.


American Airlines confirmed the flight death and said medical professionals tried to save the passenger, Carine Desir.


Desir had complained of not feeling well and being very thirsty on the Friday flight from Port-au-Prince after she ate a meal, said Antonio Oliver, a cousin who was travelling with her and her brother Joel Desir. A flight attendant gave her water, he said.


A few minutes later, Desir said she was having "trouble breathing" and asked for oxygen but a flight attendant twice refused her request, Oliver said Sunday in a telephone interview.


After the flight attendant refused to administer oxygen to Desir, she became extremely distressed, pleading: "Don't let me die," Oliver recalled.


He said other passengers aboard Flight 896 became agitated over the situation and the flight attendant, apparently after phone consultation with the cockpit, tried to administer oxygen from a portable tank and mask but the tank was empty.


Oliver said two doctors and two nurses were aboard and tried to administer oxygen from a second tank, which also was empty.


Desir, who lived in New York, was placed on the floor and a nurse tried CPR but to no avail, Oliver said. A "box," possibly a defibrillator, also was applied but didn't function effectively, he said.


"I cannot believe what is happening on the plane," he said, sobbing.


"She cannot get up, and nothing on the plane works."


Oliver said he then asked for the plane to "land right away so I can get her to a hospital" and the pilot agreed to divert to Miami, 45 minutes away.


But during that time Desir collapsed and died, Oliver said.


"Her last words were: 'I cannot breathe,"' he said.


Desir, 44, was pronounced dead by one of the doctors, Joel Shulkin, and the flight continued to John F. Kennedy International Airport, without stopping in Miami, with the woman's body moved to the floor of the first-class section and covered with a blanket, Oliver said.


American Airlines spokeswoman Sonja Whitemon wouldn't comment Sunday on Oliver's claims of faulty medical equipment.


Shulkin, through his lawyer, Justin Nadeau, declined comment on the incident out of respect for Desir's family.


American Airlines, a unit of AMR Corp. based in Fort Worth, Texas, is the largest U.S. domestic airline.

[Widow]

Uh oh.

[N2]

Can you say lawsuit.....big, big lawsuit! Lawyers are going to have a field day with this one!

[sky's the limit]

Can you say lawsuit.....big, big lawsuit! Lawyers are going to have a field day with this one!

Took the words right out of my mouth.....

s
t
l

[CD]

After following this story today, it's starting to look like the original story from AP was not quite "accurate"...

Press Release Source: American Airlines

American Airlines Statement Regarding Death of Passenger
Monday February 25, 10:54 am ET

FORT WORTH, Texas, Feb. 25 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- American Airlines is very saddened over the death of passenger Carine Desir on Flight 896 from Haiti to New York's JFK Airport last Friday and extends its deepest sympathy to the grieving family.

We are investigating this incident, as we do with all serious medical situations on board our aircraft, but American Airlines can say oxygen was administered and the Automatic External Defibrillator was applied.

Among the preflight duties of our highly trained Flight Attendants is a check of all emergency equipment on the aircraft. This includes checking the oxygen bottles -- there were 12 in this particular aircraft. We stand behind the actions and training of our crew and the functionality of the onboard medical equipment. We are also grateful to medical volunteers on this flight who came to the aid of a fellow traveler during flight.

[FastFlyBy]

American Airlines defends crew's actions, equipment after woman's death

By Samantha Gross, The Associated Press

NEW YORK - American Airlines defended its staff as professional and its equipment as sound Monday after a swift review of a passenger's in-flight death, despite her family's claims that the crew ignored her pleas until it was too late.

Carine Desir, 44, was pronounced dead Friday on a Haiti-to-New York flight by a pediatrician who said he tried to use the plane's defibrillator on her as she faded, but her pulse was already too weak for it to work.

The doctor, Joel Shulkin, was one of several medical professionals who stepped in after flight attendants asked if any were on board. Shulkin said through his lawyer, Justin Nadeau, that two emergency medical technicians performed CPR on Desir, a diabetic.

Desir, herself a nurse, had complained of not feeling well and being very thirsty after she ate a meal on the flight home from Port-au-Prince to John F. Kennedy International Airport, according to Antonio Oliver, a cousin who was travelling with her and her brother. A flight attendant gave her water, he said.

A few minutes later, Desir said she was having trouble breathing and asked for oxygen, Oliver said. "Don't let me die," he recalled her saying.

But a flight attendant twice refused her request, Oliver said.

Airline spokesman Charley Wilson said Desir's cousin flagged down a flight attendant and said Desir had diabetes and needed oxygen. "The flight attendant responded, 'OK, but we usually don't need to treat diabetes with oxygen, but let me check anyway and get back to you,"' Wilson said.

The employee spoke with another flight attendant, and both went to Desir within three minutes, according to Wilson.

"By that time the situation was worsening, and they immediately began administering oxygen," he said.

Flight attendants are trained not to automatically give oxygen to every passenger who requests it but instead use airline criteria to judge when it's needed, said Leslie Mayo, a spokeswoman for the union representing American's attendants.

There were 12 oxygen tanks on the plane and the crew checked them before the flight took off to make sure they were working, Wilson said. He said at least two were used on Desir.
"Each tank worked properly. I cannot speculate as to why a second tank was used," he said.

The Federal Aviation Administration requires commercial flights to carry no fewer than two oxygen dispensers. The main goal of the rule is to have oxygen available in case there is a rapid cabin decompression, but it can also be used for other emergencies. It is up to the airlines to maintain the canisters.

Oliver said other passengers aboard Flight 896 became agitated over the situation, and the flight attendant tried to administer oxygen from a portable tank and mask, but the tank was empty. Shulkin could not confirm whether the oxygen was flowing, his lawyer said. "It was working, and the defibrillator was applied as well," Wilson said.

An automated external defibrillator delivers an electric shock to try to restore a normal heart rhythm if a a particular type of irregular heart beat is detected. The machines cannot help in all cases.
Wilson and Shulkin said the defibrillator indicated Desir's heartbeat was too weak for the unit to work.

Oliver said he asked for the plane to "land right away so I can get her to a hospital," and the pilot agreed to divert to Miami, 45 minutes away. But during that time Desir collapsed and died, Oliver said. "Her last words were, 'I cannot breathe,"' he said.

Wilson said three flight attendants helped Desir, but "stepped back" after doctors and nurses on the flight began to help her. "Our crew acted very admirably. They did what they were trained to do, and the equipment was working," he said.

Desir was pronounced dead by Shulkin, and the flight continued to New York without stopping. Desir's body was moved to the floor of the first-class section and covered with a blanket, Oliver said.

Shulkin declined to provide additional detail, saying it was out of concern for the feelings of Desir's family.
Desir died of complications from heart disease and diabetes, said Ellen Borakove, a spokeswoman for the medical examiner's office.

FAA spokeswoman Alison Duquette said the agency's Federal Air Surgeon's office plans to discuss Desir's death with officials at Fort Worth, Texas-based American Airlines, a unit of AMR Corp.

[ch135146]

I also checked out a few related stories (like the one above) giving a different account.

It's possible that the cousin is in the spell of a slimey ambulance chaser, and sees dollar signs in his future.

I'm married to a doctor, and 'da wife says a 44 year old woman with diabetes and a pre-existing heart condition has a high risk of dying anytime, anywhere.

[Nark]

Say it ain't so!!
The AP failing to tell the whole story.
The AP also failed to mention the other 10 ox bottles on board, and the fact that a defib is not a heart starter. (original article). The old say goes, its better to break the story than to be right.

So this brings up an interesting question.
Say your flying and a pax dies and is pronounced by another qualified pax (MD). Would you still divert to get the body off?

Was the concerns of the first class pax met?
I know I don't like sitting next to anyone except super models on flights.

[Lost in Saigon]

People die every day on airline flights. Must have been a slow news day.

[Stevo226]

sad yes,
but i don't recall a clause on my last ticket that stated "we guarantee you arive alive"