Summary
A couple on a Qatar Airways flight from Melbourne to Doha was forced to sit next to a deceased passenger for four hours after she collapsed and died mid-flight.
The flight crew moved the woman’s body to an empty seat beside them and denied their request to change seats.
Qatar Airways apologized but did not offer the couple support after the incident.
The couple, en route to Venice, criticized the airline’s handling of the situation but are trying to continue their trip despite the distressing experience.
I think the only thing they’re pissed about is the airline didn’t allow them to move seats after they put the woman not in her original seat and probably being forced to stay on the plane longer than needed, potentially missing their connection to Venice, while medics came on board to haul her away.
If the flight wasn’t full and they didn’t allow them to move seats that’s extremely messed up.
Even if it was full they should have found an alternate method of securing the body. They’re already dead, they don’t need a seat.
I think the problem likely comes down to safety and respect for the dead.
Put the body in the back galley and suddenly the plane hits rough turbulence and that body is now a +100 pound projectile.
Putting the body in a bathroom seems better, but that turbulence hits and now the body is flying around in there during the rough turbulence, and then the next day the media is lambasting the air line for desecrating the body or whatever.
Then not having an alternate plan in place is on the airline, if there was nothing else the crew could do.
I think it’s more the nature of modern air craft. There isn’t much spare room and space is extremely expensive on planes. Meanwhile, these deaths rarely occur.
There’s probably some way to design a system to secure a body in the bathroom, however, and I broadly agree with you that they should have some type of solution.
Couldn’t have placed the body in the cargo hold or one of the bathrooms? I think passengers wouldn’t have minded being one bathroom down.
Doubtful those are actual options. Bathroom? How are they going to secure the body incase of an emergency? It’ll just be bouncing around in the bathroom. I don’t think the door is strong enough to keep the body from falling out. And access to the cargo hold through the plane is very tight/small. It’s hard enough to be an able body person getting down there. Dragging a body would be next to impossible.
Access to the cargo hold? That’s a myth made up by movies. Checked bags have different security standards for a reason, they’re completely separate from passengers.
That depends on the aircaft. It’s very accessible on the ART42/72.
Put it in the first class or the crew bunkers. Anywhere but there…
In his autobiography Ozzy Osborne related a story about the guy next to him dying on a flight. He informed the flight attendant who gave him the choice of moving seats or staying put with free drinks for the remainder of the flight, so he stayed in place and got blasted out of his mind.
Joke’s on Ozzy if that was an international flight, you get free drinks on those whether or not someone next to you dies
Perhaps it’s time to bring back the amenity that Singapore Airlines devised to handle this situation on their ultra-long-haul flights in the Airbus 340-500 – the corpse cupboard: https://simpleflying.com/singapore-airlines-airbus-a340-500-corpse-cupboards-history/
The airline installed a discreet locker next to one of the aircraft’s exit doors to hold an average-sized human body. Special straps were also provided to secure the body and prevent it from being moved by turbulence or during landing.
Accurate. Are you a summarization bot?
I think he might just be some guy. Possibly the 3rd in a long line of guys.
Bless Singapore and their innovation in shoving humans bodies into cupboards, from domestic workers in apartments to corpses on airplanes
If the movie Commando has taught me anything, it’s that a dead person covered to look like they are asleep, can make an 8 hour flight without notice.
You just need a blanket and a pillow (and John Matrix).We all have so much to learn from Commando.
I made a ton of extra room in my Camry by ripping the seats out like a goddamn silverback.
I’ve sat next to many a passenger who was dead from the neck upwards.
On a related note, why don’t more people just drop dead while driving a car? Like I can’t think of a single story that I’m aware of that went “yeah he had a heart attack and then ran the car off the road”
I feel like it should be a daily occurrence
Probably because after they do, they crash and it will generally be assumed the crash is what killed them.
It’s going to be real weird when self driving cars finally work and sometimes cars just pull up with a dead body in it.
See Harry Chapin.
The news just doesn’t report shit like that.
I used to work with a lady who, upon missing her shift, the next day the managers were all going around quietly telling staff that she died on her way to work, that she’d had a massive stroke while driving. New fear unlocked that day. But yeah I guess you don’t hear about it on the news because the may just assume car accident is what causes the fatalities.
I knew someone that was orphaned in high school because his dad had a heart attack, crashed, killed himself and his wife.
Go ahead, put me next to the body. But don’t for a second think you can stop me from acting out that scene in Commando for the rest of the flight.
“Please dont disturb my friend, he’s dead tired”
Does anyone know if there’s actual protocol in these situations?
I actually know someone who died on a plane last year and, while they did at least make an emergency landing at a nearby airport, I’ve never thought about where they kept the body during that time. I’m not sure if it’s appropriate to ask his surviving family that was with him, probably not.
I’d sit next to a dead person on every damn flight if I had the choice.
There’s bodily fluids that leak out afterwards. I don’t think you’d want that to splash on you during turbulence.
No more fighting for the armrest, no snoring, no chit chat? Well…
On the other hand, if body odor bothers you…
In four hours and in a relatively cool room, with adequate ventilation, that’s not really a problem. It’s not like they picked a decomposing corpse before take off and stuffed it there.
Worst case scenario order a coffee and leave it on it.
It’s not the decomposition, it’s the bladder and bowels slowly emptying themselves!
Nice one. Counterpoint, it seems the person was fresh out of the restroom.
(I feel the need to say it, but I’m not actually that serious about sitting near a corpse for hours)
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It really should be policy to allow at least the seat(s) next to the deceased (I understand not moving the body for coroner/investigation reasons, though they did in this case at which point why not put them in a bathroom and guard It you have extras) use any surplus steward seats or those staff seats in the cockpit for employees.
Just basic decency in the event of an extreme circumstance.
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