ST. JOHN’S, N.L. – A man died on a transatlantic flight that was diverted to St. John’s early Thursday, the second time in less than a week that a plane had to make an emergency landing in the city for that reason.
The Delta Air Lines flight was on its way to London from New York when it was diverted at 1:30 a.m.
The 63-year-old passenger became ill and later died of natural causes, Newfoundland and Labrador’s chief medical examiner said.
But his death poses no health risk to other passengers onboard the flight, Dr. Simon Avis said.
The diversion of flights to Newfoundland because of emergencies onboard transatlantic flights is a frequent occurrence, he added.
“It’s actually quite common,” he said.
The flight resumed its journey about two hours later.
On Monday, an Air France flight from Montreal to Paris had to be diverted to St. John’s after a 41-year-old passenger became sick and died onboard.
Avis declined to reveal how that man died, saying medical officials haven’t been able to contact his next of kin.
But he said there was no health risk, including the transmission of infectious diseases, to other passengers on that flight as well.
