Airline Passenger Falls Severely Sick, Dies On Flight After Being Certified Fit To Fly

An elderly passenger onboard an Air Peace flight from Nigerian city of Calabar to Abuja died after falling severely sick.

According to local reports, the unidentified 72-year-old man was suffering from paraplegia, which is the paralysis of the legs and lower body, and was traveling to Abuja for a check-up.

On Friday, July 31, his daughter escorted him to the Margret Ekpo International Airport where the officials with the Federal Airports Authority of Nigerian (FAAN) certified him as fit enough to travel.

However, once he boarded the flight, he became severely sick. When the flight landed at Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, a doctor confirmed that he was dead.

Confirming the incident, spokesman of Air Peace, Stanley Olise, said, "The passenger was certified fit to fly by Port Health officials in Calabar before boarding our aircraft; but the passenger 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 the necessary protocols. Air Peace has thoroughly decontaminated its aircraft and Port Health is on top of the situation," he said, local newspaper This Day reported.

An investigation was ongoing and the cause of death was not known.

The incident comes weeks after an elderly Vietnamese woman died on a repatriation flight from the United States. The unidentified 73-year-old woman fell inside the Vietnam Airlines flight from San Francisco after visiting the restroom. The flight crew immediately applied first aid. After the flight landed at Van Don International Airport, the doctor pronounced her dead. The cause of death was not known.

Earlier this year, a Massachusetts man died aboard an Emirates flight from Dubai to Boston. The passenger reportedly was in cardiac arrest aboard the flight, but the cause of death was not known. After the flight landed at Boston Logan International Airport, the man was tested for COVID-19, the result of which was negative.