Posted on 03/18/2002 3:46:22 PM PST by rdww
FAA Probes Case of 80-Year-Old Iowa Man in Wheelchair Who May Have Died Before Boarding Flight
DES MOINES, Iowa March 18 —
An 80-year-old passenger was pronounced dead at the end of an airline flight, and authorities say it is possible he had already died when he was taken on board in his wheelchair.
James Walsh was found dead Saturday after arriving at Des Moines International Airport on the America West Express flight from Phoenix. He had a history of heart and kidney-related problems.
A report by the Polk County medical examiner's office said members of the flight crew reported that he looked "kind of stiff" and didn't move during the trip.
The report also said Walsh's daughter-in-law told investigators his fingertips were turning purple and she couldn't find his pulse, but when a flight attendant checked on Walsh the daughter-in-law told her he was "just sedated, sleeping and had a pulse."
After they landed at Des Moines, Walsh's son, Mark Walsh of Green Valley, Ariz., wheeled his father into the terminal and was met by his sister, a registered nurse. The sister said he was dead at that time, and he was later declared dead at a hospital.
The medical examiner's office report said Mark Walsh told investigators he was "pretty much convinced he died in the airport terminal in Phoenix."
There was no immediate explanation why Mark Walsh took his father onto the plane if he suspected the man had died. There was no comment from him Monday; he has no listed phone number in Green Valley.
Phoenix-based America West Express was satisfied that Walsh, who lived in Des Moines, was alive when he boarded, spokeswoman Patty Nowack said Sunday.
"We never would have allowed a passenger who had passed away to board an aircraft," she said.
Walsh was seated next to his son and daughter-in-law on the Boeing 737 with about 100 passengers on board, Nowack said. She said she had not heard any passenger complaints about the flight.
The Federal Aviation Administration was looking into whether the airline and crew followed regulations, including whether there was enough medical equipment on board and whether the crew was trained to deal with a death. But an official said sanctions were unlikely.
"They're not anticipating any federal regulatory violations at this time," FAA spokeswoman Elizabeth Isham-Cory said in Chicago.
Both the Des Moines and Phoenix police departments said they did not plan to investigate.
Walsh had been staying with his son and daughter-in-law near Phoenix for the winter and was receiving medical treatment, the medical examiner's report said. His family was bringing him back to Des Moines on a doctor's advice.
Under Iowa law, anyone other than a funeral director who transports a body between states would need a burial-transit permit from a county registrar or funeral director, said Carol Fleagle, executive director of the Iowa Funeral Directors Association.
-- I didn't know they needed any extra Democratic voters in Iowa or Arizona.
-- Fortunately, Sky Marshalls were keeping a close watch on him the whole time.
Yes, I remember reading about that here on FR. It was during the crises when the Chinese rammed our aircraft then held it hostage. Does anybody have a copy of that posting? I regret now I didn't keep it.
What state can now legally claim the dead guy? What state wants to? With his bad luck the poor fellow could end up a stateless dead person. Don't laugh, you're hearing it from someone who's been there!
I hadn't realized security lines were that long...
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