Simviation Forums

Would you ever have thought of this?

It is always inconvenient when a passenger dies on an aeroplane - not least for the person sitting in the next seat. So Singapore Airlines has attempted to take the trauma out of such tragedies by introducing a special cupboard to store any unexpected corpse.
The airline's new fleet of Airbus A340-500 aircraft boasts a discreet locker next to one of the plane's exit doors which is long enough to store an average-sized body, with special straps to prevent any movement during a bumpy landing.
Cabin crew have been instructed to use the locker in the event of a death on a long-haul flight - particularly if the aircraft is busy, with no free seats on which to lay out the deceased.
The aircraft came into use in February, operating the longest non-stop route in the world: a 17-hour, 7,900-mile journey between Singapore and Los Angeles.
The length of the flight has forced Singapore Airlines to think carefully about its handling of any medical emergencies - particularly because the route spans the Pacific Ocean, with little opportunity for an unscheduled landing.
An airline spokeswoman said: "On the rare occasion when a passenger passes away during a flight the crew do all that is possible to manage the situation with sensitivity and respect.
"Unfortunately given the space constraints in an aircraft cabin, it is not always possible to find a row of seats where the deceased passenger can be placed and covered in a dignified manner, although this is always the preferred option.
"The compartment will be used only if no suitable space can be found elsewhere in the cabin."
The airline intends to begin a second route next month using the same long-range aircraft - the flight between Singapore and New York will skirt the north pole, offering equally little scope for diversion.
Richard Maslen, the assistant editor of Airliner World magazine, said the compartment was an interesting feature of the new aircraft, which seats 180 people.
"As far as I'm aware, this is not something that's been thought of in other aircraft designs in the past," he said.
"Obviously, these things do unfortunately happen in the air and it's good to see that they have been thought about in advance."

The question begs if you're not the 'average' 5'10" and 170lbs what do they do? A sort of origami yoga thing?

Put you on the roof rack?

chop off their feet from the ankles? Not like they will need them again is it
Good idea, but i would have thought the a340 would seat a few more people than 180 :-/

Erm.....I wouldn't wanna sit with my knees on my chin for 17 hours, Craig.... :-/

...so 180 seats in such a long aircraft is just fine. Plenty of space for me and my legs...

bet the seat pitch is still 30-32 inches though lol.

Funny...in the US, no one ever dies on an airplane.  (Little known industry secret.)  The reason is because (at one airline I happen to know of, anyway), you're not allowed to let ANYONE on the plane declare the person dead.  (They're just unconscious.)

Then when the plane gets to the gate and the "sleeper" is brought outside the aircraft, just inches from the main cabin door, anyone qualified to do so may declare the passenger dead.

Why?  If you die on a plane, the entire plane is grounded (with passengers) until they can determine there was no foul play involved....its treated as a crime scene.

Crazy, eh?

Actually that makes a certain sense Scott.  I have 3 years in emergency nursing and I have made the mistake of thinking someone was dead when they were very deeply asleep.  Hugely embarrasing at the time, funny as hell now.  I couldn't find a pulse and there was no apparent respratory effort.  I pulled the alarm and did the pre-cordial thump, at which point the patients sat up, yelled "ouch" and scared the poo out of me.

Will

Mad but of course in most countries only a doctor is allowed to declare someone legally dead. Sometimes one has to question the wisdom of this
Mind you there are a lot of odd definitions of natural causes or suicide. For instance being in a British pub and saying something v.bad about the Queen leads to suicide. Trying to do your toast whilst in the bath is natural causes... Wow I think I should re-write the law, I could get v.creative

Yes, but even if there's a doctor on board, he/she can't declare them....it has nothing to do with anything other than the airline doesn't want to delay the flight.  lol