By Adesina Soyooye
Fresh from re-starting its operations after months of lockdown, no thanks to COVID-19, an airline, Air Peace, recorded a death aboard one of its flights on Friday.
A 72-year old man died on the flight heading to Abuja from Calabar.
According to reports, the deceased was said to have been sick, since 2019, allegedly suffering from paraplegia. Paraplegia is a spinal chord injury which paralyses the lower limb. He was on his way to Abuja for a check up.
When he arrived the Margaret Ekpo International Airport, Calabar, accompanied by one of his daughters, as demanded by protocol, he was certified fit to travel by Port Health Officals.
But on arrival at the local wing of the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, he was found to be unresponsive, having experienced some crisis in-flight.
That was when Port Health officials were invited to board the aircraft and check.
He was declared to have lost every pulse, meaning that he had passed-on.
His body was thereafter evacuated from the aircraft, while investigation will be carried out to confirm, actually, how feat he was to embark on the journey.
It is usually a big deal when a passenger dies aboard an aircraft.
Both the Airline and the Pilot could be penalised if any negligence is established on their part.
Stanley Olise, Spokesperson for Air Peace confirmed the incident, but insisted that the deceased was certified fit to travel by Port Health officials, and had indicated no signs of serious illness before the aircraft took off.
Olise: “The passenger was certified fit to fly by Port Health officials, but developed a medical condition in-flight.
“On arrival at the Nnamdi Azikiwe Airport, Abuja, we urgently notified the Port Health officials, who confirmed the death, and took the remains of the passenger to the hospital for necessary protocols.”
This magazine was not able to confirm if the deceased travelled with his daughter who was with him at the Calabar airport, but Air Peace says it has decontaminated the aircraft.
