AirAsia Employee Dies Mid-Flight, Plane Makes Emergency Landing

An AirAsia flight AK416 from Kuala Lumpur to Bandung, capital of Indonesia’s West Java province was diverted to Johor’s Senai International Airport on Wednesday after a male employee died mid-flight.

The budget airlines confirmed the news in a report by the New Straits Times that the flight was diverted to Johor, a state in southern Malaysia because of a "medical emergency”.

The airlines stated that although the staff member, who remained unidentified, was given immediate medical attention upon landing, he was later pronounced dead by a doctor on the ground.

“The AirAsia family is saddened by the loss of an All-star and extends our deepest sympathies to the family of the deceased. We will provide all necessary support to the family during this bereavement period,” the company said in a statement.

After the tragic incident, the AirAsia flight subsequently left Senai International Airport and arrived at Bandung's Husein Sastranegara International Airport at 10:11 a.m. local time (8:00 p.m. EST).

The report also stated that Kulai police chief superintendent Dzulkhairi Mukhtar said that AirAsia has lodged a report about the incident and that the police are investigating it as a “sudden death”.

Mukhtar added that the deceased was a 46-year-old Indonesian man, however, he did not reveal his name or designation within the company.

In a fairly similar incident that took place in October 2015, an American Airline pilot became incapacitated mid-flight and later died during a trip from Phoenix to Boston. A report stated that the pilot, identified as Micheal Johnston, lost control of the Airbus A320 due to his medical condition, following which the co-pilot had to take charge of the flight. The report also stated that the flight made a safe landing in Syracuse, New York, around 7 a.m. EST.

Upon landing, Johnston was provided with immediate medical treatment, however, he was later declared dead.

"Syracuse, American 550, medical emergency, the captain is incapacitated, request handling for the runway,” the co-pilot said at the time, according to a transcript of the flight's communications.

“American Airlines Flight 550 diverted to Syracuse Hancock International Airport (SYR) early this morning due to pilot illness. Unfortunately, our pilot passed away. We are incredibly saddened by this event and we are focused on caring for our pilot's family and colleagues,” the airline said in a statement at the time.

American Airline’s CEO, Doug Parker praised the valor of the staff present on the flight at the time. He said that the “crew members took extraordinary care of Mike, each other and our customers”. In a statement sent to the employees, he wrote: “We couldn’t be more proud of the teamwork this crew showed during an extremely difficult time.”

Reports stated that the passengers on the flight were incredibly cooperative as they waited for the deceased's body to be removed after the flight’s emergency landing and Syracuse. After Johnston’s body was removed, a replacement crew had taken over the duties for the flight's remaining journey from Syracuse to Boston.