Passengers on an easyJet flight have claimed that an elderly woman was wheeled onboard by her relatives when she was already dead in Malaga, Spain, last Thursday, Dec. 18. The flight was bound for London Gatwick, UK.
The 89-year-old British woman was brought in a wheelchair by five family members, who allegedly told a boarding clerk that she was tired and unwell, the passengers described.
Petra Boddington, a passenger on the plane, told the British newspaper The Sun:
“People turned in their seats and went, ‘Oh my god, she looks dead’.
“She was a fragile, old lady who was curled up and doubled over in a chair in a not very comfortable position.
Boddington added that other travellers saw the woman’s carers “holding her head up.”
When the plane was on the runway and preparing for take-off, the cabin crew checked the passengers one final time and allegedly raised concerns that the woman had died. The plane was then halted and redirected back to the terminal.
As emergency personnel went aboard to check on the woman, she was pronounced dead while still on the plane.
What the authorities have said
The Malaga Civil Guard confirmed that the woman was pronounced dead just after 11 a.m. local time (10:00 a.m. UTC). The flight was scheduled to depart at 11:15 a.m. (10:15 a.m. UTC) but was delayed by almost 12 hours due to the incident.
EasyJet has denied that the woman was dead prior to boarding, and added that she had a fit-to-fly medical certificate.
No known arrests have been made, and it remains unclear what happened to the woman’s body after being taken out of the plane
Have you ever witnessed a peculiar flight incident? Share your experience in the comments below.
