A passenger who died mid-air on a flight to San Francisco has been identified.
Satyanarayana Pasupuleti, 83, from India, passed away on board Turkish Airlines Flight 79 on July 13 while en route from Istanbul.
His identity was confirmed to The Independent by the San Mateo County Coroner’s Office in a phone call. The coroner’s office did not provide a cause of death.
The passenger, who was traveling with a medical note, suffered a medical emergency while the plane was mid-air, Turkish Airlines told The Independent in a statement. The airline did not identify the passenger.
“Despite all medical interventions performed by two doctors on board and our crew, including CPR and defibrillation, the passenger’s heart stopped, and he passed away," the airline said.
The crew initially considered diverting to Iceland’s Keflavik Airport but instead continued towards North America, landing at Chicago O’Hare, according to aviation outlet Aviation A2Z.
There was initial confusion about the location of the 83-year-old’s remains.
An original report by the SFGATE said Ertugrul Gulsen, the Turkish Airlines station manager at San Francisco International Airport, told the outlet that "the flight diverted to Chicago O’Hare International Airport after a passenger died.”
However, Turkish Airlines told The Independent on Friday that the diversion to Chicago was due to refuelling.
“With the joint decision of the captain and Operations Control Center, and with the consent of the passenger’s accompanying relatives on board, it was decided that the flight would proceed to San Francisco without diversion. Accordingly, authorities and police in San Francisco were informed, and all necessary procedural preparations were carried out," the emailed statement read.
“Due to the requirement for re-fueling, a diversion was made to Chicago. Upon landing the airport authority and the police were accordingly informed by our officials. Following the re-fueling and with the necessary approvals from the authorities, the consent of the passenger’s relatives, and the decision of OCC and the captain, it was deemed operationally viable for the flight to continue to San Francisco.”
The flight landed approximately five and a half hours later than scheduled in San Francisco.
All passengers, crew, and the deceased passenger’s relatives were met by law enforcement officials.
Statements of crew and relatives were taken, and the official reports were filed, the Turkish Airlines spokesperson said.
After all passengers had disembarked, an autopsy officer arrived and conducted the required reporting process related to the incident.
The airline added: "The deceased passenger and their relatives onboard were disembarked from the aircraft under the supervision of law enforcement and the autopsy officer. The aircraft was subsequently cleared to resume operations as scheduled.”
San Mateo County Coroner’s Office confirmed to The Independent that Pasupuleti’s remains were offloaded in that county, home to the San Francisco International Airport, and are under the jurisdiction of the local coroner.
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