Flight Diverted After Mid-Flight Passenger Death

A Singapore national died on a Tigerair flight bound for Singapore Changi Airport (SIN), prompting the plane to be diverted to Bangkok.

A Tigerair flight bound for Singapore was forced to divert after a passenger fell ill and died en route from the northern Thai city of Chiang Mai.

Flight TR 2177 was diverted to Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport (BKK) as a result of the incident, which took place on the afternoon of Tuesday, January 12.

Despite the diversion, the passenger, named by local news outlets as Seet Ngow Chai, died before assistance could be obtained. It has been reported that the 58-year-old had fallen ill mid-flight and was traveling with his wife, a Thai national, as well as three other family members. It is believed that he was returning home to Singapore at the time of his death.

His wife confirmed to airport authorities in the Thai capital that her husband had been suffering from a congenital chronic illness.

It is reported that Chai’s body has been taken to the Police General Hospital for an autopsy and local officials are now investigating the matter. The passenger’s wife believes that her husband died of natural causes.

A spokesperson for the Singapore-based budget airline told the Daily Mail that, “Our immediate concern is for these next of kin and we are doing what we can to assist them.”

Tigerair’s sympathetic stance echoes that of many other carriers around the world. While procedures vary from airline to airline, they are intended to minimize the impact that incidents such as these can have on both passengers and next of kin.

While mid-air deaths are rare, airlines and cabin crew are trained to deal with such occurrences. Because an immediate diversion is not always possible, some airlines are kitted with body bags. But at the very least, staff are trained to move the body of the deceased out of the line of sight of passengers as swiftly and as discreetly as possible.

[Photo: Tigerair]