It has been confirmed that a passenger on board a Jet2 flight from Tenerife to Manchester, that was forced to make an emergency landing in Newquay, has died. The pilot of flight LS756 issued the alert around three hours into the journey on Sunday night (April 2nd) after a female passenger required medical assistance.
Witnesses on board the plane have told of the 'emotional' scenes on board as the passenger fell ill and needed urgent assistance from medical professionals as the aircraft began to descend before making an unscheduled landing at Newquay Airport in Cornwall.
A passenger on board told the Manchester Evening News: "A few hours into the flight a man was helping a woman he was with to the bathroom. She looked to be in quite a state and was in distress.”
"Cabin crew had a chat with them and at one point they had to lay her down in front of the doors where the seats with extra legroom are. She was being asked how much pain she was in so that they could relay it back to the captain.”
"She seemed to take a sudden turn. The cabin crew put out an announcement for any medical staff on board. Then the plane took a very dramatic veer to the right and it was clear something had changed and we needed to land straight away.”
"Quite a few people were visibly upset and emotional by what was going on. She passed out, and they had oxygen and a defibrillator on board and started performing CPR. They did this for around an hour until we landed at Newquay.”
"The air ambulance and a second ambulance were waiting when we landed, and they quickly transported her out of the side of the plane on a scoop stretcher."
After the plane had landed, those on board said it had to refuel as police talked to Jet2 staff at the scene. The plane later took off again, landing in Manchester at around 10pm.
Further details about the nature of what happened have not yet been confirmed, but the South West Ambulance Service and Devon and Cornwall Police have been approached for further information.
In a statement, Jet2 have since confirmed the passenger on board has died. A spokesperson said:
"Flight LS756 from Tenerife to Manchester diverted to Cornwall Airport Newquay yesterday evening, due to a customer requiring medical attention. Regrettably, we can confirm that the customer has sadly passed away. Our thoughts are with her family and friends at this very difficult time. We would like to express our thanks to our crew, as well as other customers who provided assistance onboard.”
