The body of a passenger who died during an international flight to San Francisco, prompting the aircraft to divert to Chicago, is reportedly unaccounted for, according to reporting by SFGATE.
Neither airport officials nor a representative for the airline would comment on the circumstances surrounding the death and declined to confirm the passenger’s identity, nationality and gender, the outlet reported.
According to flight tracking website FlightAware, TK Flight 79 left Istanbul on July 13 and while the Airbus A350-941 was over Greenland when the passenger “suffered a severe medical emergency,” according to the aviation blog Aviation A2Z.
Initially the crew prepared to divert to Keflavik Airport in Iceland, though the passenger’s conditioned reportedly worsened, resulting in their death.
“Consequently, the decision was made to continue toward North America rather than divert outside US airspace,” Aviation A2Z reported. “Upon entering the airspace over the United States, the crew opted to land at CHICAGO O’HARE (ORD), a major international hub capable of handling emergency landings with adequate medical support and facilities.”
The passenger’s body would presumably then be under the jurisdiction of the Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office, though Natalia Derevyanny, a spokesperson for the department, told SFGATE that there was no record of the deceased passenger or of any case matching that description.
The Turkish Airline station manager in San Francisco would only tell the outlet that the remaining passengers were rerouted on different flights that eventually got them to their destination.
It is currently unclear where the remains of the passenger are.
A study published in The American Journal of Emergency Medicine on in-flight emergencies, published in Oct. 2021 found that deaths mid-flight are particularly rare.
“In-flight medical events on commercial travels are extremely low with a corresponding very low in-flight mortality rate,” the study’s authors wrote.
KTLA has reached out to Turkish Airlines regarding the whereabouts of the deceased passenger’s body and is awaiting a response.