# Teen dies of natural causes on Delta flight; plane diverted to Spokane



## CHamilton (Dec 7, 2013)

Teen dies on Delta flight diverted to Spokane



> SPOKANE - A plane had to make an emergency landing in Spokane Saturday for a medical emergency.
> Spokane International Airport officials said the Delta flight was headed to Atlanta from Seattle when a 16-year-old boy had a medical emergency on the flight and later died. The plane was diverted to Spokane and landed around 10:15 a.m.
> 
> Officials said the boy died of natural causes.


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## Blackwolf (Dec 7, 2013)

That is a bummer. A bad situation for all involved, for sure.

The portion of the article stating that passengers on the plane were being put onto other aircraft and/or being laid over in Spokane until another fight crew could be shipped in is not surprising. If the teen died while still on-board the aircraft, then the plane would become a crime scene (much like a train does after a trespasser incident) until cleared by the local authorities doing their investigation. That could take several hours, likely meaning the crew would "time out" before being able to finish the flight to Atlanta.


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## Trogdor (Dec 7, 2013)

Blackwolf said:


> If the teen died while still on-board the aircraft, then the plane would become a crime scene


Is this a fact or an urban legend?


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## jis (Dec 7, 2013)

Trogdor said:


> Blackwolf said:
> 
> 
> > If the teen died while still on-board the aircraft, then the plane would become a crime scene
> ...


It sounds like urban legend to me, but frankly I don't know the exact set of regulations that apply in those situations.
Also, I think a person getting killed by getting run over is a very different situation from a passenger suffering a fatal heart attack while relaxing in their seat on a train or a plane, and therefore I am not sure that the same considerations play out in the two cases either.


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## SarahZ (Dec 7, 2013)

That's so sad.


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## Devil's Advocate (Dec 7, 2013)

Trogdor said:


> Blackwolf said:
> 
> 
> > If the teen died while still on-board the aircraft, then the plane would become a crime scene
> ...


Following that logic if you die outside of a hospital then it's a crime.

On the other hand if you kill a stranger inside a hospital then it's perfectly legal.

It's true that there are certain practices employed for liability and insurance reasons.

However, those are civil issues which are a completely different topic.

Crime scenes generally require evidence of a criminal offense in order to exist.


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## MrFSS (Dec 7, 2013)

I had boarded a plane at ORD many years ago and before we left the gate an older man died of a heart attack. We all deboarded, the medicis took his body off, we all reboarded and left, about 45 minutes late. I never saw a police officer the entire time.


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## Blackwolf (Dec 7, 2013)

That would be from professional experience, which is hardly urban legend. Any death is considered suspicious until there is undeniable proof to the contrary. This includes your own personal home where, say while hosting a dinner party, a guest dies from a sudden heart attack. Paramedics, EMT's, firefighters or anyone else (I fall into two of those categories) cannot remove a legally deceased person from the location of their death. That is the job and authority of the sheriff/coroner. This is due to the crime scene part, as well as chain of custody for the body.

So, if this young gentleman did indeed get pronounced dead while still aboard the aircraft, then it is a temporary crime scene pending arrival of the sheriff/coroner to determine otherwise and remove the body. Considering that this was at the airport, I would suspect the sheriff/coroner was on the scene within 45 minutes. But where I primarily work, we can wait upwards of 5 hours sometimes.

As such, the aircraft is not available for use and everyone must deplane. Some passengers may or may not be interviewed briefly for a statement, and assuredly the crew would be. Once it was determined to be natural causes and not involving foul play, they would bag the body and remove it. Que the cleaning crews, find a new flight crew, and reboard any remaining passengers for the continuation of their flight.


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## Devil's Advocate (Dec 7, 2013)

Blackwolf said:


> Any death is considered suspicious until there is undeniable proof to the contrary.


So what you're saying is that my 94 year old grandmother and my 20 year old cat died suspiciously at the temporary scene of a crime? Even if what you're saying is somehow true in the eyes of the law that's just another example of how amazingly confused our country has become with regard to the basic matters of life and death.


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## Blackwolf (Dec 7, 2013)

Devil's Advocate said:


> Blackwolf said:
> 
> 
> > Any death is considered suspicious until there is undeniable proof to the contrary.
> ...


Yes. When it comes to your grandmother or any other human being, death is treated suspiciously until proven otherwise. This is not a new law by any means. Until the sheriff/coroner arrives at the scene to take custody of the body, it is considered a crime scene. I do this act over and over, day in and day out while at work. It's really not that big of a deal (aside from the dying part for the loved ones, naturally,) but it can cause inconvenience in cases such as on a plane.

Just like, if someone were to die aboard a passenger train while enroute and be declared dead before being moved from the vehicle, then the effected car and/or accommodation would be a crime scene. Like it or not, this practice is universal in all 50 States. But please, don't shoot the messenger! I'd hate to make AU get held up by a tardy sheriff/coroner!


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## railiner (Dec 7, 2013)

Deaths from natural causes happen all the time on cruise ships, especially due to the demographic of the passenger's. They even have a morgue on board for that purpose, or if not ,utilize a refridgerated storeroom to hold the body until removed. The ship will put the deceased off at the next scheduled port of call, but unless the death was from suspicious cause, will not even make an unscheduled stop at the nearest port for the purpose....


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## Devil's Advocate (Dec 7, 2013)

railiner said:


> Deaths from natural causes happen all the time on cruise ships, especially due to the demographic of the passenger's. They even have a morgue on board for that purpose, or if not ,utilize a refridgerated storeroom to hold the body until removed. The ship will put the deceased off at the next scheduled port of call, but unless the death was from suspicious cause, will not even make an unscheduled stop at the nearest port for the purpose....


Maybe that's only in international waters.

Maybe if the ship is docked at a US port it becomes the world's largest crime scene where even a 94 year old is presumed to have died from foul play.

I'm not sure if that's true or not, but at this point there's almost no claim or concept so assinine that it's beyond the reach of our combined stupidity.


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## Trainmans daughter (Dec 7, 2013)

Another site commented that the boy had cerebral palsy and died of cardiac arrest in his mother's arms. They were on their way to visit his dad who is stationed at a military base in Georgia. So sad.


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## CHamilton (Dec 8, 2013)

‘Every possible therapy’ used on teen who died on diverted flight


> The 16-year-old boy who died Saturday morning aboard a Delta Air Lines flight bound for Atlanta from Seattle had a previous medical condition and went into cardiac arrest, Spokane Assistant Fire Chief Brian Schaeffer said Sunday afternoon.
> Flight 128 was diverted to Spokane International Airport shortly after 9 a.m. Saturday while flight attendants and volunteers aboard the plane performed CPR, Schaeffer said.
> 
> Members of the Spokane Fire Department continued CPR for 40 minutes while the plane sat on the tarmac at the airport, but ultimately the boy was pronounced dead at the scene.
> ...


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## CHamilton (Dec 9, 2013)

Boy who died on Delta flight from Sea-Tac is identified



> A boy who died on a Delta Air Lines flight Saturday passed away from natural causes likely related to a rare disease, the Spokane County Medical Examiner’s Office said in a statement Monday.
> 
> 
> The boy was identified as Zachiary Bisiar, 16.
> ...


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