A surprising incident happened on a British Airways flight. On Sunday, a 60-year-old female passenger on flight BA32 from Hong Kong to London died shortly after take-off. This flight was Airbus A350-1000, the woman died about an hour after the flight started. After this incident, the pilots could have taken the flight back to Hong Kong or landed it somewhere in between, but they did not do so.
According to the rules, if a passenger dies, it is not considered a medical emergency. Therefore the flight was continued directly to London. Initially the crew members thought of keeping the woman's body in the toilet, but it did not seem right. After this, the body was wrapped in a blanket and kept in the rear (galley) of the plane. Galley is the place where food is prepared. However, the crew forgot that the floor at that place is heated.
During the long flight of about 13.5 hours, a strong smell started emanating from the dead body due to the heated floor. As the flight got closer to London, the passengers and staff sitting at the back started feeling the stench more. A total of 331 people were on board this flight. After reaching London's Heathrow Airport, the police came in the plane and started investigation. During this time, all the passengers had to wait sitting on their seats for about 45 minutes. The airline later issued a statement saying that all rules were followed in this entire incident. The company expressed condolences to the woman's family and said that the crew is also being given full support.
According to the rules of the International Air Transport Association, if a passenger dies during a flight, the body is covered with a body bag or blanket and kept in a less visible place. If there is a vacant seat then one can be shifted there, otherwise one can be kept on the same seat. According to a report, it is very rare for a passenger to die in a flight. A 2013 study in the New England Journal of Medicine suggests that only 0.3% of in-flight medical incidents result in death.
