AMR Spokesman Says Medical Equipment WAS Working

More details over the crew's handling of a passenger's emergency medical situation onboard a recent American Airlines flight have surfaced.

As ANN reported Monday, Carine Desir died onboard the February 22 flight from Port-au-Prince, Haiti to New York. Desir's cousin, Antonio Oliver, who was traveling with her, went public Monday with statements implying cabin attendants onboard the nearly-full Airbus A300 ignored Desir's inital requests for oxygen, after saying she had troubles breathing following meal service.

"Don't let me die," Oliver recalled Desir saying, The Associated Press reported Monday. Early reports also stated two oxygen bottles the crew brought to Desir were empty, and an onboard medical defibrillator malfunctioned. The 44-year-old woman -- who was reportedly a nurse -- later died.

On Monday, officials at American -- as well as the carrier's flight attendants' union, and one of the doctors who administered aid to Desir -- defended flight attendants' handling of the crisis.

Through his attorney, Dr. Joel Shulkin said two emergency medical technicians onboard the flight performed CPR on Debir, who initially complained of not feeling well and being very thirsty after eating her meal.

At first, attendants brought Desir a glass of water, but her symptoms persisted and she then experienced difficulty breathing. Oliver flagged down an attendant and asked for the oxygen, telling attendants Desir was a diabetic.

"The flight attendant responded, 'OK, but we usually don't need to treat diabetes with oxygen, but let me check anyway and get back to you,'" said American spokesman Charley Wilson. Desir also suffered from heart disease.

Oliver maintains a flight attendant denied his requests for O2 twice -- a charge Wilson downplayed, noting the first attendant spoke with a second, and both returned to Desir within three minutes. "By that time the situation was worsening, and they immediately began administering oxygen," he said.

Leslie Mayo, a spokeswoman for the Associated of Professional Flight Attendants, said cabin personnel don't automatically give oxygen to every passenger who requests it, but instead use criteria determined by the carrier. He said two tanks were brought to Desir, out of 12 emergency O2 tanks onboard the A300 -- and, contrary to Oliver's claims, all those tanks were fully functional.

"Each tank worked properly. I cannot speculate as to why a second tank was used," he said.

Dr. Shulkin could not confirm whether the oxygen was flowing, his attorney said, though American's Wilson emphatically stated "It was working, and the defibrillator was applied as well."

Installed in airline cabins over the past few years, automated external defibrillators (AEDs) deliver an electric shock to restore normal heart rhythms when a particular type of irregular heartbeat is detected. The systems do not deliver a charge if no such beat is detected, however... and Dr. Shulkin implied such was the case with Desir, though he declined to give specific details out of deference to Desir's family.

Ellen Borakove, spokeswoman for the medical examiner's office in New York, confirmed Desir died from complications due to diabetes and heart disease.

When informed of Desir's medical condition, the plane's flight crew at first moved to divert to Miami... but when Desir later passed, the pilots opted to continue on to JFK International. Desir's body was laid down in first class and covered with a blanket, Wilson said. Passengers exited the plane behind the first class cabin.

"Our crew acted very admirably. They did what they were trained to do, and the equipment was working," he said.

FAA spokeswoman Alison Duquette said the agency's Federal Air Surgeon's office will discuss Desir's death with officials at American.

FMI: www.aa.com, www.faa.gov, www.afpa.org