Medical Emergency On United Airlines Transpacific Flight Spotlights Humanity

When a man suffered a heart attack onboard a United Airlines transpacific flight to Japan, the best of humanity came out…even at 40,000 feet.

Heart Attack On United Airlines Transpacific Flight Brings Out The Best Onboard

A passenger traveling from San Francisco (SFO) to Tokyo Narita (NRT) shared the following experience:

SFO to NRT today, and about halfway across the Pacific an elderly gentleman, headed home for a funeral, has a medical emergency. Turns out he was at the hospital yesterday being treated for chest pains, and today was his heart attack. Flight was almost diverted to Anchorage and then Sapporo, but he was stable enough, so we didn’t have to.

Young man in Polaris exchanged seats with the stricken passenger (row 49) so he could lie flat. Crew asked if there was a doctor on board, and there were two, both cardiac specialists. Second announcement an hour later, asking if anyone had nitroglycerin (there’s an ask one doesn’t often hear on a plane!), and four passengers did. Pedal down, we arrived 30 minutes early in Narita. A four person medical crew escorted him off the plane safely, walking on his own.

The crew didn’t miss a beat, handling all the meal and drink services in the last half of the trip without a hitch. They asked the passengers to remain seated when we landed so emergency crews could board, and everyone did.

Damn impressive.

Impressive yes, but fortunate too. Fortunately, there were not only two doctors onboard, but cardiac specialists. Indeed, it is not every day you hear, “Ladies and gentlemen. If anyone has nitroglycerin, would you please ring their call button?”

It is my understanding that in addition to a first aid kit, airlines have a special bag (EMK) with more advanced drugs that can only be opened by a licensed professional. Maybe the doctor needed extra nitroglycerin?

Kudos to the passenger who gave us his Polaris seat so the patient could lie-flat. I hope that United will either give him a refund or at least generous enough compensation that he can book into Polaris next time he crosses the Pacific Ocean…

Kudos to everyone onboard:

• Passengers remained calm
• Flight attendants resumed service after the passenger stabilized
• Pilots put the “petal to the metal” so the plane arrived early in Japan and avoided a costly diversion
• Doctors who stepped up when duty called

It’s a beautiful picture of how we can all work together when we try…