Kenya Airways speak on Kenyan who died in flight from New York
Kenya Airways has confirmed that a passenger aboard one of its flights from New York to Nairobi has passed away.
In a Tuesday evening statement, the carrier, popularly known as KQ, said that a medical emergency had forced its pilots to divert the plane to Casablanca, Morocco.
The ill passenger, whose identity has not been disclosed, later died.
“We convey our deepest condolences to the family and friends of the deceased,” KQ said.
“We sincerely apologise to our other guests for the inconvenience,” the carrier added.
The incident happened on Monday August 22 aboard flight KQ003.
KQ said Moroccan medical personnel tried to help but found that the passenger, a Kenyan man, was already unresponsive.
The plane, which was to land at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) at 10:30am yesterday, got to Nairobi at about 7pm the same day.
The man’s family was reportedly informed of the incident and was at the airport to collect his body.
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According to the IATA guidelines, when a death occurs onboard, this is the procedure that is followed.
When a person has been declared dead, or presumed dead, the following protocol is suggested:
1. Advise the captain immediately as he/she will have to advise the destination airport using company protocol to make sure the proper authority meets the flight
2. Move the person to a seat – if available, one with few other passengers nearby. If the aircraft is full, put the person back into his/her own seat, or at the crew’s discretion, into another area not obstructing an aisle or exit. Take extra care when moving the person and be aware of the difficulty of the situation for companions and onlookers.
3. Put the person in a body bag if your airline uses them. Zip the bag up to the neck.
4. Restrain the person with seat belt or other equipment.
5. Close the eyes, and cover the body with a blanket up to the neck if a body bag is not available.
6. Request contact information from travelling companions.
7. Disembark other passengers first and make sure the family members stay with the body. Do not disembark the body until the proper local authority has arrived to take care of the body and that the ground personnel is available to assist the family members.
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