Flight 178 Inflight Medical Emergency
Apr 30, 2009, 11:23 am
#1
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Flight 178 Inflight Medical Emergency
Was on flight 178 from Phoenix yesterday and it was diverted to Detroit because of an in-flight medical emergency. I'm not quite sure what happened but they took the lady off the plane in Detroit and she looked fine to me. Does anyone know what the airlines policies are for such instances. Are they legally required to land at the nearest airport if someone says they are not feeling well and want to go to a hospital?
Apr 30, 2009, 11:41 am
#2
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In most cases it's the other way around. The sick passenger usually doesn't want to divert but the airline, usually on advise from a medical consultation firm, makes the decision to ensure that they've done everything that they can in case it gets worse.
Apr 30, 2009, 12:58 pm
#3
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I believe inflight medical emergencies are quite common. I've experienced about 5 (4 on JetBlue) that I can remember few - coincidentally all within the last 2 or 3 years. One was on the ground and we just returned to the gate. The gentleman's wife was upset that she would not be making it to Florida that day! 
I had one on an SXM flight last summer which is a little scary because you're over water. Then, I had one a few weeks ago on FLL-JFK. We didn't divert on any of them, but amazingly there were doctors on all flights who were able to assist. The inflight crews also did a fabulous job of keeping others calm and handling the intense medical situation as it unfolded.
I'm sure JetBlueFA and co. can chime in here - but I belive captains have access to an organization called MedLink, which enables them to receive live instructions from a medical professional on the ground.
Not fun at all, but definitely safer to divert if needed.
I had one on an SXM flight last summer which is a little scary because you're over water. Then, I had one a few weeks ago on FLL-JFK. We didn't divert on any of them, but amazingly there were doctors on all flights who were able to assist. The inflight crews also did a fabulous job of keeping others calm and handling the intense medical situation as it unfolded.I'm sure JetBlueFA and co. can chime in here - but I belive captains have access to an organization called MedLink, which enables them to receive live instructions from a medical professional on the ground.
Not fun at all, but definitely safer to divert if needed.
Apr 30, 2009, 1:36 pm
#4
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planes carry O2, a first aid kit sometimes with drugs, and a portable AED. they will generally also ask for medical professionals on board to assist, but none of these are substitutes for a real hospital
I think it's when a person's condition is considered more serious and life threatening, the pilot has the option to divert, but is not required to depending on the airlines regulations. the pilot is in charge in the air, but generally I don't think any of them want to be responsible for a dead or injuried passenger.
if the person is feeling airsick, the pilot will likely not divert, but if the condition is deamed more serious by the docs on board or via medlink then the pilot will usually ask what the option are and follow the advice.
on a flight a few year ago from Pittsburgh to the UK, we had a medical emergency about half way across the atlantic. the pilot kept going and diverted to Shannon which wasn't that far from London, but still the closest airport that could handle the jet and with medical facilities.
I think it's when a person's condition is considered more serious and life threatening, the pilot has the option to divert, but is not required to depending on the airlines regulations. the pilot is in charge in the air, but generally I don't think any of them want to be responsible for a dead or injuried passenger.
if the person is feeling airsick, the pilot will likely not divert, but if the condition is deamed more serious by the docs on board or via medlink then the pilot will usually ask what the option are and follow the advice.
on a flight a few year ago from Pittsburgh to the UK, we had a medical emergency about half way across the atlantic. the pilot kept going and diverted to Shannon which wasn't that far from London, but still the closest airport that could handle the jet and with medical facilities.
Apr 30, 2009, 6:54 pm
#5
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The captain has the ultimate decision whether to divert or not. He is fed information from the flight attendants and any other medical people that happen to be onboard. I'd say 80-90% of the time the company MedLink, based in Phoenix, is used to get input. They take the information that is given to them by the pilots and direct the flight crew how to act and what to do in certain situations. Medlink takes all liability when they are called so the airlines are no longer responsible should something bad happen. I believe all US carriers use medlink.
O2 is almost the end all cure all. I can't count the number of times I've had a passenger look like death and a little O2 brings them bad to life. The first thing I will do is pull the O2 bottle, put them on it, and have another FA call the flight deck and tell them what is going on and to standby incase the situation gets worse and we need medlink.
Medlink can also advise the captain when he should divert. 99% of the time the Captain is going to heed their advice since they are medically trained doctors. Sometimes a divert to the closest JetBlue city is fine and sometimes an immediate divert is required. I think that if the situation allows, person is just sick, we would try to divert to a JetBlue city, if one is close, so the passenger and be helped by local JetBlue crewmembers.
My first trip at JetBlue was hit with a medical. We were just north of MCO when an older lady had a massive heart attack. I think we were turned around and descending within 5 minutes of informing the flight deck. What shocked me was we pulled off the runway and made a high-speed taxi to the gate because it was touch and go for a while. We were doing CPR and using the AED all through descent, landing, and taxi. We got to the gate and the EMTs got on and got her on the stretcher while we continued compressions until we could get in the jetbridge. I walked back on the plane and a gentleman asked what was taking so long as he had a ride waiting for him in JFK....
Seriously? We have a lady on the verge of death and your worried about your ride? Medicals can be minor and medicals can be minor and turn into something major. Being stuck in a metal tube at 37,000ft is not the place to be with a potential medical emergency.
O2 is almost the end all cure all. I can't count the number of times I've had a passenger look like death and a little O2 brings them bad to life. The first thing I will do is pull the O2 bottle, put them on it, and have another FA call the flight deck and tell them what is going on and to standby incase the situation gets worse and we need medlink.
Medlink can also advise the captain when he should divert. 99% of the time the Captain is going to heed their advice since they are medically trained doctors. Sometimes a divert to the closest JetBlue city is fine and sometimes an immediate divert is required. I think that if the situation allows, person is just sick, we would try to divert to a JetBlue city, if one is close, so the passenger and be helped by local JetBlue crewmembers.
My first trip at JetBlue was hit with a medical. We were just north of MCO when an older lady had a massive heart attack. I think we were turned around and descending within 5 minutes of informing the flight deck. What shocked me was we pulled off the runway and made a high-speed taxi to the gate because it was touch and go for a while. We were doing CPR and using the AED all through descent, landing, and taxi. We got to the gate and the EMTs got on and got her on the stretcher while we continued compressions until we could get in the jetbridge. I walked back on the plane and a gentleman asked what was taking so long as he had a ride waiting for him in JFK....
Seriously? We have a lady on the verge of death and your worried about your ride? Medicals can be minor and medicals can be minor and turn into something major. Being stuck in a metal tube at 37,000ft is not the place to be with a potential medical emergency.
May 1, 2009, 9:54 am
#6
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it's the same when people get mad about emergency vehicles on the road. when I was an EMT a while ago, we'd assure people that complained to us that the person in the back of the rig was having a day significantly worse than anyone that has to pull to the side of the road for a few seconds is having.
i know on the UK flight, we were stuck in Shannon for about an hour while the crew had to complete paperwork before the airport would give the okay for the flight to continue to London. people didn't mind the diversion to take the passenger off the plane, but the ground wait was something people didn't tolerate as well.
i know on the UK flight, we were stuck in Shannon for about an hour while the crew had to complete paperwork before the airport would give the okay for the flight to continue to London. people didn't mind the diversion to take the passenger off the plane, but the ground wait was something people didn't tolerate as well.
May 1, 2009, 1:12 pm
#7
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I am an emergency physician and have assisted several times when medical assistance was required. It seems like it is the pilots decision whether to divert. The last time the pilot was able to get air control permission to maintain cruising airspeed to much closer to the airport than normal, cut 20 minutes off the airtime and went strait to the gate with a waiting paramedic team who treated the person on board before anyone was allowed to deplane.