FLIGHTENED TO DEATH No good deed goes unpunished

Posted on 03/31/2016

There was a story some time ago about one Paul Trinder, a British Airways’ First Class passenger en route from New Delhi to Heathrow who woke up to find a newly-deceased elderly female (economy) passenger had been propped up in the seat opposite his.

To make matters worse, the woman was accompanied by her daughter who was understandably distraught and spent the rest of the flight wailing loudly over her now blanket-covered mother. The crew explained that economy was full and there was no place else to put the lady and furthermore that there were no other seats in First to which the now equally distressed Mr. Trinder could be relocated.

Back on the ground it didn’t get much better. When Trinder, a 200,000-mile-a- year Gold Card BA loyalist asked the airline how they planned to make amends, he was told there would be no compensation and that he should “get over” the incident.

Fortunately such situations are few and far between. According to the US DOT the number of in-flight deaths is consistently only about 0.35 per million passengers.

The number of in-flight medical emergencies is also very low with an average of only one in every 753 flights reporting any kind of (non-fatal) incident. Interestingly the same data reveals that almost 75% of all “flight associated” medical emergencies take place in an airport rather than in flight. This may well have something to do with the level of physical and mental stress that airline passengers must endure while negotiating security, walking miles of concourse, sitting out delays and waiting for bags to (God willing) show up on the belt. The numbers also line up well with the fact that a typical 90 minute flight will usually necessitate twice that amount of time in airports.

Back on board, when the PA goes out, “If we have a doctor on-board would they please identify themselves to the cabin crew” no statistics are maintained as to how often a qualified volunteer is found. Unofficial industry estimates indicate that a doctor or some kind of medical practitioner, like a nurse or an EMS technician is found around 50% of the time.

This is not to say that there aren’t doctors on board more often than that, but rather that they may simply be making a calculated decision not to raise their hand to the call button.

The sad fact is that by volunteering to assist in an airborne emergency, doctors are not only likely to find themselves working for the balance of their trip, but they are also potentially laying themselves open to the ever-present threat of malpractice litigation. Many doctors have learned at their cost that so-called “Good Samaritan” laws - which are perceived to protect everyone who renders aid in an emergency - are riddled with major loopholes.

For example, California’s Supreme Court recently upheld a female “victim’s” right to sue a bystander who had pulled her from an automobile wreck. She had suffered a spinal cord injury from being moved and the court ruled there was no "immediate peril", despite the Samaritan’s explanation that he had feared the car might explode at any moment.

At 35,000 feet medical emergencies are further complicated by the fact that the “good doctor” doesn’t have the authority to say “get this person to the closest hospital now”. They can recommend it, but the ultimate decision as to whether or not a costly emergency diversion is in order falls to the aircraft’s commander. The pilot alone has the authority to make such a decision – one that is further complicated by considerations such as whether or not the closest, middle-of-nowhere diversion point has adequate emergency services or does it make more sense to continue to the known facilities at the intended destination which involves only 30 minutes more flying time.

For the guy in the left-hand seat it’s really a classic case of “no good deed goes unpunished”. From my airline days I can recall numerous cases where pilots decided to play it safe and divert only to end up with egg on their faces.

A typical tale was the Virgin Atlantic flight from London to Los Angeles that had a suspected heart attack on board. At a doctor’s urging the captain diverted into some no-name Arctic Circle military base which was the only place within a thousand miles with an airstrip that could accommodate a Boeing 747. On touchdown the cardiac customer was rushed to the camp’s sick bay. As it turned out however by the time the ground crew had figured out how to fuel a jumbo jet the patient was back on board and ready to leave with everyone else. According to the diversion report bicarbonate of soda was prescribed for the ailing passenger’s severe heartburn!

Needless to say, if ever again confronted with a similar situation the doctor might be forgiven for deciding to sit on his hands and the pilot could well opt to keep his pedal to the metal.

The fact remains that in most situations, when medical assistance is requested on an aircraft, the majority of doctors live by their Hippocratic Oaths and are only too happy to volunteer their services.

As with the BA passenger who thought he was due some accompanying-corpse-compensation, I have to report that a lot of doctors can also get quite vocal about being rewarded for their voluntary humanitarian services.

On more than a few occasions I have been called in to arbitrate customer service negotiations with everyone from EMS types to GP’s to heart surgeons as to what number of frequent flier points would represent an appropriate expression of the airline’s gratitude.

Thinking about it now, I wonder if Virgin ever went back and deducted points from the FFP account of the doc who made that heartburn call?