23-Year-Old Passenger Dies Aboard Transatlantic United Flight

A 23-year-old New Jersey woman flying home from London died about an hour and a half before her flight landed in Newark.

United Airlines Flight 115 from London Heathrow Airport (LHR) landed at Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR) just before 10 p.m. Monday night. When the Boeing 757 touched down, it was carrying the remains of a 23-year-old New Jersey woman who died in-flight little more than an hour earlier.

Port Authority of New York and New Jersey spokesperson Joe Pentangelo told the New Jersey Star-Ledger that the young woman who died on the flight had a “pre-existing medical condition.” The passenger’s health issues were reportedly not contagious and posed no danger to other passengers on the flight.

According to the report, the female passenger, who was traveling alone, was discovered unconscious mid-flight. A doctor on the plane attempted to assist the ailing passenger, but those efforts were not enough to save the woman’s life.

The woman was pronounced dead by a local medical examiner shortly after the flight landed at EWR. Authorities have not released the passenger’s identity and have declined to specify the nature of the medical condition, other than to offer assurances the condition was not contagious. An autopsy has been scheduled to determine the exact cause of death.

“We offer our condolences to the passenger’s family,” United Airlines spokesperson Mary Ryan told the newspaper in an email. “For privacy reasons, it would not be appropriate for us to comment further.”

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