Dying Passenger’s ‘Naked’ Body Dragged From American Airlines Flight

Passenger Theresa Hines was dragged off an American Airlines flight at Minneapolis–Saint Paul International Airport in Hennepin County, Minnesota, Monday, the Star Tribune reported the following day. An emergency medical technician (EMT) worker aggressively removed her, to the shock of other passengers.

While some reports claimed she was naked from the waist down, there are others that said she had underwear on. Hines was removed after she was found unconscious in the bathroom an American Airlines Boeing 737 flight from Dallas to the Twin Cities. She died shortly after she was taken to the hospital.

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In an official statement to the International Business Times, American Airlines said they declared an emergency landing when they discovered Hines was in distress.

“The crew of Flight 2423 from DFW to Minneapolis-St. Paul (MSP) found one of our passengers in medical distress prior to landing. They, along with several medical professionals, provided onboard medical assistance to her,” the statement to IBT said. “Our crew declared an emergency landing and requested that paramedics meet the flight. The paramedics worked immediately to remove our passenger from the aircraft and provide her with medical aid, but unfortunately, they were unable to revive her.”

As to what Hines was wearing when she was “dragged,” American told IBT: “Our passenger was wearing underwear. She was not completely naked as could be understood from an alleged eyewitness account.”

American Airlines crew members were not involved. “When a passenger is in medical distress” they crew “hand over the responsibility for the passenger to the local first responders [and] stand clear of the situation. We let them do their work,” Ross Feinstein, a spokesman for American, told the Star Tribune.

Feinstein added it’s not the crew’s job to notice if a passenger has been in the bathroom for an extended period of time. “If a flight attendant is made aware of a passenger in the lavatory for an extended period of time, of course a flight attendant will check on the passenger to make sure they are all right,” the rep said to the Star Tribune.

She was reportedly in there for 45 minutes, but the airline claimed they did everything they could to help her. Hines was taken off the plan on a portable stretcher. “Our team and others did what they could do to preserve her modesty while working to save her life,” airline officials told the Star Tribune.

Though there are rumors about the amount of clothing the woman was wearing, the people the Star Tribune spoke to said she was covered up.

“That's baloney,” passenger Art Endress told the publication about Hines being naked. His did, however, witness Hines be “dragged her down the aisle” by first responders.

“The EMT was out of line,” he said. “The flight attendants could have thrown a blanket on her.”

A different passenger didn’t think the EMT did anything wrong. “She was not half-naked,” Dave Sampsell told the Star Tribune in an email. “Her pants were unfastened, but I saw nothing that any of the airline or EMT staff did inappropriately.”

It’s unknown what caused Hines’ death, but she might have suffered from cardiac arrest. The Carrollton, Texas, resident was 48 years old. She was traveling by herself.

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While how much clothing Hines was wearing when she was dragged off the plane concerned some of the 150 passengers aboard the flight, airport spokesman Patrick Hogan said the first responders were most concerned with trying to save Hines’ life and “get her in the jetway, where they can continue to try to resuscitate her.”

“From our standpoint everything was handled according to the textbook,” Hogan told the Associated Press.

Emergency workers reportedly tried to resuscitate Hines for an hour. “We are deeply saddened by this event and our thoughts and prayers go out to our passenger's loved ones,” the airline’s Tuesday statement to IBT said.

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