A 47-year-old woman died on a Ryanair plane traveling to Lanzarote. According to several British media, the passenger, also of this nationality, collapsed in the toilet and was found unconscious and without a pulse. A doctor who was traveling on the plane tried, unsuccessfully, to revive her. Davinia Tavener was finally declared dead upon arrival on the island. The events occurred on November 1, 2014, and now, after the hearing to determine the causes of her death, the United Kingdom has plunged into a debate about the obligation to carry defibrillators on airplanes.
The Ryanair plane on which Tavener was traveling did not have one of these devices. Although airlines are not required to carry them on short-haul flights, according to several media in the country, the investigation into what happened has sparked a debate in the United Kingdom about whether airplanes should have one on both long-haul and short-haul flights.
According to the account of events reported by the Mirror newspaper, Davinia Tavener was traveling to Lanzarote with her husband. Twenty minutes before landing, he noticed that his wife was not returning from the bathroom and alerted the crew. There they found her unconscious, without a pulse, on the toilet. Surgeon Claire Garnsey, who was traveling on the plane, rushed to her aid, but could not save her life.
Investigation into the causes of her death
This Monday, a hearing was held in Bolton, the town where Tavener resided, in the coroner's court to clarify the causes of her death. According to the Daily Mail, surgeon Garnsey stated that she was "surprised" that the plane did not have a defibrillator, which could have helped treat her, although she acknowledges that it is "difficult to know" if this would have prevented her death, since she was in the bathroom for between 5 and 10 minutes and it is not known exactly how long she had been unconscious before she was found.
Andrew Tavener, the deceased's husband, told the court, according to The Guardian, that his wife was healthy, beyond some complaints of stomach pain. The newspaper states that, after listening to the statements of the husband, the surgeon, and several witnesses, the coroner Alan Walsh finally ruled that Tavener's death was due to unknown causes and considered it a natural death. He also pointed out that Ryanair staff had complied with all safety measures and contributed as much as possible to try to save the life of this mother of two children.
The airline, for its part, emphasizes that "Ryanair complies with all regulatory requirements regarding medical assistance on its flights and has no legal obligation to carry defibrillators on board." "All our staff are trained in first aid assistance and are responsible for safety and security in the cabin. In the event of an incident during the flight that requires medical intervention, our crew diverts to the nearest airport and requests medical assistance before landing," they state. In its comment, the airline also expresses "its sincerest condolences" for Tavener's death.
