American Air Refuses Oxygen to Dying Woman, Then 3 Equipment Failures
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What will probably come out of this and other incidents is Congress making laws about who is allowed to fly. In the future, to prevent lawsuits, airlines will probably require a doctor's visit the week before the flight, if not the day before, to garuntee that you have a clean bill of health and won't giver other passengers rare diseases or be likely to die. If you have any problems such as a history of heart issues, you simply won't be allowed to fly for fear that you might die on the flight and be able to sue.
And as much as I think that airlines are not supposed to be responsible for extreme emergencies like this (to clarify, airlines are not hospitals and cannot be expected to be prepare to deal properly with medical emergencies. Airlines are there to fly you, not save your life), it is sad that she died, and horrible that they carried malfunctioning equipment. That gave a false illusion of hope. I'm not sure what to think about them refusing at first to give her o2...I'd really like to see exactly what happened, perhaps they were taking some time to watch her and see that she really did need o2 and wasn't just self diagnosing herself wrong? All said and done, they have to be somewhat careful with it, right? Do they carry enough o2 for everyone on the plane to suck on it the rest of the flight? (I know they have the emergency masks, but is that pure o2, or what? And woudl those last an entire flight?) It's a Titanic issue: not enough for everyone so you have to be choosy in whom you give it to, in case there is a more obvious emergency later in the flight.
It sounds like a big mess.
And as much as I think that airlines are not supposed to be responsible for extreme emergencies like this (to clarify, airlines are not hospitals and cannot be expected to be prepare to deal properly with medical emergencies. Airlines are there to fly you, not save your life), it is sad that she died, and horrible that they carried malfunctioning equipment. That gave a false illusion of hope. I'm not sure what to think about them refusing at first to give her o2...I'd really like to see exactly what happened, perhaps they were taking some time to watch her and see that she really did need o2 and wasn't just self diagnosing herself wrong? All said and done, they have to be somewhat careful with it, right? Do they carry enough o2 for everyone on the plane to suck on it the rest of the flight? (I know they have the emergency masks, but is that pure o2, or what? And woudl those last an entire flight?) It's a Titanic issue: not enough for everyone so you have to be choosy in whom you give it to, in case there is a more obvious emergency later in the flight.
It sounds like a big mess.
OP
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Nope, just a dead body in the aisle for half the flight.
I have never liked American, but my feelings softened when Crandall stepped down, and my preferred airlines are but corporations as well - all three have fought off bankruptcy. Still, it's been worth paying more to fly my preferred airlines for the Elite bennies I've acquired. My willingness to pay extra just increased significantly.
Yes, Lynn - as I said, she was a heart disease passenger probly would have died anyway, but damn! Having to argue with the FA over whether she gets to try the O2?! :no
I'm speculating here, but maybe the FA's thots were: "The cry baby doesn't really need O2, and if I give her the first bottle - we'll have have to divert to Miami, we'll be hours late into NY, and I'll catch heat for the extra expense."
How would any of y'all like to be returning from a dive trip, experience DCS, and have to argue over whether you deserve O2 or not...?!
dive_lover88
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As far as i know, the plane shouldnt even have left the ground. Irregardless whether this happened, the emergency equipement shld have been checked , filled and certified good to go.
As far as i know, the plane shouldnt even have left the ground. Irregardless whether this happened, the emergency equipement shld have been checked , filled and certified good to go.
This is of course, the bottom line.
I rarely comment on medical things online (as it is what I do for a living) -- but there is simply no excuse for inoperable medical support equipment on an airliner (or anywhere else for that manner) -- but given that there is no opportunity for more equipment to be procured in the context of an emergency (unlike most other modes of travel), it is just inexcusable. If it is not maintained as carefully as any other piece of flight equipment it should not be there.
I would also prefer to see a somewhat more informative defibrillator available -- chances are relatively high that someone onboard could at least determine what the basic rhythm was if they could actually see it.
When I was in training at a large NYC city hospital a number of years ago it was not uncommon to have people show up in our ED (15-20 minutes from La Guardia) with a large envelope filled with their complex medical histories (often cardiac) -- their local hospitals in the islands had finally run out of options and told them to fly to NYC. Had a handful show up in florid heart failure with very esoteric structural heart disease. Not clear if this was the situation here, but risky nonetheless to fly with labile failure.
JT
FunkyDiver
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I'm not a lawyer or anything but the way this will play out is that the maintenance guy who checked off the bottles as being full will take the brunt of the blame (as he should). But then I would imagine the lawyers will take it a step further (because the poor maintenance guy won't have the millions that the family is asking for) and try to say that management told him to "pencil whip" it.
This is a very unfortunate incident indeed and one that is probably more common that the average traveler would care to know about.
This is a very unfortunate incident indeed and one that is probably more common that the average traveler would care to know about.
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If one requests O2 on a dive boat, there's no arguments, but then - I have seen empty tanks supplied in such cases on two boats. If I ask the Op for records of his last gas checks tho, to view his compressor and check the O2 bottles myself - I'm viewed at the group trouble maker. I tried that on my last trip, gave in before I even thot of asking to see the bottles, and sure enough...! :11:
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We have no idea if she would have died anyway. She had doctors attending her, and they were likely minutes out when the pilot was first alerted to the problem.
Had they declared a medical emergency at the first complain, and diverted to land and had working defib and o2, who knows what the outcome would have been? Certainly not anyone on this board!
The fact that the pilot failed to declare a medical emergency when first alerted and that basic required safety gear was faulty puts American Airlines in a hell of a spot for this one. It won't go to the CEO though, it'll stop at the maintenance supervisor for the last service the plane received -- unless that equipment is not part of the regular service checklist, in which case who knows where it stops.
Had they declared a medical emergency at the first complain, and diverted to land and had working defib and o2, who knows what the outcome would have been? Certainly not anyone on this board!
The fact that the pilot failed to declare a medical emergency when first alerted and that basic required safety gear was faulty puts American Airlines in a hell of a spot for this one. It won't go to the CEO though, it'll stop at the maintenance supervisor for the last service the plane received -- unless that equipment is not part of the regular service checklist, in which case who knows where it stops.
deco_martini
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Would oxygen have helped? Especially since they had to divert to Miami?
I mean, theres obviously something wrong with the airline's procedures if they have malfunctioning O2 kit on board the craft however. However, I would like the word of a medical authority that it would have affected the outcome.
I mean, theres obviously something wrong with the airline's procedures if they have malfunctioning O2 kit on board the craft however. However, I would like the word of a medical authority that it would have affected the outcome.
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