Originally Posted by
mapleg
I happened to be on a flight last week from Europe to YYZ when there was a medical emergency. No Dr on board, but a nurse or other health professional was there.
I was only one row away from the passenger in question...an elderly gentleman. I could hear the conversations of the staff and some of his family members. In the end we made it, sans diversion, to YYZ. I commend the staff for their ability to handle such a situation in this case.
Of course this is not really newsworthy. so only that worst case scenarios hit the CBC news.
So you think the CBC is blowing the situation out of proportion? A situation in which a passenger actually died?
The concern that is being raised by the news story is a perfectly valid--and very distressing--one. If the airline had diverted the flight and the passenger had been rushed to the nearest hospital and had still died, at least it could be said that everything possible had been done to save the passenger's life. The fact that the pilots made the decision not to divert, to continue the flight as scheduled, and the passenger subsequently died, is what appears so damning. Everything possible was NOT done to save the individual's life.