Teenage boy with cerebral palsy dies in his mother's arms during flight to see veteran father for Christmas forcing emergency landing

  • The 16-year-old boy, who suffered from cerebral palsy, went into cardiac arrest 30 minutes after takeoff, causing the plane to be diverted
  • A flight attendant performed CPR as the plane made an emergency landing, until paramedics took over on the ground
  • The boy's father is now meeting the rest of his family in Spokane

By Ryan Gorman and Associated Press Reporter

PUBLISHED: 18:11 EST, 7 December 2013 | UPDATED: 04:11 EST, 8 December 2013

A 16-year-old died Saturday during an Atlanta-bound flight to visit his military veteran father for Christmas.

The teen boy, who suffered from cerebral palsy, went into cardiac after a medical emergency 30 minutes after take-off from Seattle, Spokane Fire Department spokesperson Brian Schaeffer told MailOnline.

The boy was flying with his mother, grandmother and another sibling to visit his father stationed at McChord Air Force Base but was outside Atlanta for unknown reasons, according to Mr Schaeffer.

On the ground: Emergency personnel with the Tacoma Fire Department race to the plane to try to save the boy's life

On the ground: Emergency personnel with the Tacoma Fire Department race to the plane to try to save the boy's life

The boy and his family were flying to Atlanta to spend time with his father for the Christmas holiday when he went into cardiac arrest, Mr Schaeffer explained.

‘The majority of the family went on the plane to fly down to Georgia this afternoon,’ he added.

There is no indication as to why the unidentified boy had the medical emergency, but passenger Joe Ryan, of Atlanta, told MailOnline the flight crew notified people on-board the boy had cerebral palsy.

Washington State patient-confidentiality rules prohibit local officials from divulging such information outside of a coroner’s report, said Mr Schaeffer, but he did say there was nothing in his medical history to suggest such an incident was to be expected.

'It was an expected event by any means,' he said.

The boy and his family were sitting at the back of the plane when they began calling for help, said Mr Ryan.

The flight crew immediately sprung into action. Despite the dire circumstances, everyone – including passengers – remained calm and collected through out.

‘It was calm and the male flight attendants rushed to his aid at the back of the plane,’ said Mr Ryan. ‘They started performing CPR on him… the pilot got on the air and said we are going to have an emergency landing.’

‘We were on the ground in five minutes... I think that they did everything they could to save that boy’s life,' Mr Ryan added.

Diverted: A Delta plane similar to this one was diverted Saturday to Spokane International Airport as the boy went into cardiac arrest

Diverted: A Delta plane similar to this one was diverted Saturday to Spokane International Airport as the boy went into cardiac arrest

Emergency personnel were already on their way when the plane touched down.

‘We met them on the ground with our fire fighter paramedics and attempted resuscitate him for well over 30 minutes,’ Mr Schaeffer said.

‘Paramedics rushed on to the plane, you could tell there was a lot of urgency… then everything calmed down and you could put two and two together,’ Mr Ryan lamented.

The boy was pronounced dead on the plane.

 

More...

His body was removed by ladder from the back of the plane, according to Mr Ryan.

The deceased boy’s devastated family was put up in a local hotel which is being paid for by charities linked to the Spokane Fire and Police Departments, as well as Spokane International Airport.

The father is expected to arrive in Spokane early Saturday evening.

‘We’re doing everything we can for them,’ Mr Schaeffer said.

A preliminary cause of death has not yet been determined, but an autopsy is expected to take place within 24 hours.

A Delta spokesperson told MailOnline the flight, which originally had about 250 passengers is expected resume later Saturday and land in Atlanta about 7 hours later than its originally scheduled time.

Comments (73)

Share what you think

 View all

The comments below have not been moderated.

Such sadness my thoughts and prayers to this family xxx

0
0
 Click to rate

I have several friends who know this family well. Please take a moment to pray for them. And rest now in a better place, young one. I will say, the careless writing of the DM really starts to grate at your nerves when you know the facts of a situation. The writers seem to have no respect for their subjects.

0
11
 Click to rate

....heartfelt condolences his family.

0
17
 Click to rate

Too much heartbreak for one family to bear.

2
42
 Click to rate

Well said YankeeDo - Concertante, London, United Kingdom, 08/12/2013 10:22 Thank you. Unfortunately DM didn't like my post so they've sent me an email saying it's been removed. I don't know how they can allow posts like the one I commented on to be out online and then choose to remove mine when I simply told the poster their comments were inappropriate and RIP to the poor boy the story was about. Anywhoo.... I appreciate your comment.

1
32
 Click to rate

Do planes not carry defibrillators like the ones shopping malls have? CPR is often, unfortunately, not sufficient on its' own. Real resuscitation is quite different to the TV show version and sadly often fails. What a tragedy for the family but sounds like the flight crew did a professional job and good support from Spokane organisations for the bereaved family.

2
42
 Click to rate

Tragic story , but an even worse headline written by the DM. I'm not sure it's even English. Such a story deserves better.

0
33
 Click to rate

We used to be able to report those trolls on here now how can we? Some people on here are despicable.

2
45
 Click to rate

If you move your mousepointer over the post, then a small flag will show up in the right upper corner

2
25
 Click to rate

Well said YankeeDo

2
19
 Click to rate

Dear God, this is too awful. I can't begin to imagine the shock, fear and horror his poor mother, grandmother and sibling must have endured. And the poor father, who has been left with almost seeing his son again, one last time. I wish them all peace beautiful memories.

1
85
 Click to rate

The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline.

Add your comment

By posting your comment you agree to our house rules.

Who is this week's top commenter? Find out now