Flight AC051 had left Delhi shortly after midnight local time. When Pant’s symptoms started seven hours later, it was over Europe. Pande says she pleaded with the cabin crew to divert the plane and land in order to get her father to a hospital.

Instead, the flight stayed on course for nine more hours, travelling over Ireland, across the Atlantic Ocean and Eastern Canada before touching ground in Montreal. Paramedics were waiting — but Pant died as they worked on him.

“I was very hysterical,” said Pande. “My mind was gone at this point.”

Her father was officially pronounced dead at a Montreal hospital from a “presumed infarction” — dead heart tissue.

Two months later, Pande says the piercing grief has given way to anger.

“He was at the mercy of the pilot and Air Canada people,” she told Go Public. “They were inhumane and callous.”

  • @MotoAsh
    link
    708 months ago

    Murdered via neglegence. Choosing to finish the flight on time over someone’s life should be despicable to anyone with a fragment of a soul left.

    • @[email protected]
      link
      fedilink
      178 months ago

      There are the mandated penalties for late arrivals. Diverting could result in a 24h delay for ~250 passengers which could mean a 250k fine

      Except despite all the BS reasons AC says flights are outside of their control, this one is definitely outside their control.

      So that doesn’t hold.I wonder what their decision was based on.

      • @Nouveau_Burnswick
        link
        258 months ago

        Cost to divert was estimated at $900,000 in the article. Decision was based for the air medical contractor in the article.

        One improvement I can immediately see, is to put the ground medical team in contact directly with the head flight attendant, rather than having communications filtered by the pilot. Each rebroadcast reduces communication accuracy.

  • @NotMyOldRedditName
    link
    608 months ago

    Looks like we’re getting another lawsuit on the value of a life.

    How cheap are they today?

    • @Nouveau_Burnswick
      link
      248 months ago

      Cost to divert in the article was $900,000. So less than that.

      • @NotMyOldRedditName
        link
        18
        edit-2
        8 months ago

        That’s not the actual number though, we’ll find that out when this goes to court and they settle or lose.

        If AC wins, then it’s less than 900k

      • @SpaceNoodle
        link
        8
        edit-2
        8 months ago

        Wow, human lives used to be valued just over $1MM. Shrinkflation, I guess.

    • @[email protected]
      link
      fedilink
      48 months ago

      Eh, doesn’t matter how expensive it is they’ll just increase ticket prices. It’s not like there’s much competition or incentive for air Canada to improve things.

    • @7355608
      link
      18 months ago

      I’d wager less than the fundamental things required to sustain it.

  • PuddingFeeling
    link
    fedilink
    478 months ago

    That’s it. Nationalize Air Canada. We have had it with their self serving doctrine.

    • @[email protected]OP
      link
      fedilink
      388 months ago

      I think you mean renationalize … Mulroney sold it off in '88 after deregulating airfares and letting airlines abandon uneconomic routes. And Ottawa bailed out AC during COVID, buying up almost 10% of the shares.

      My guess is nationalization is on the table.

    • @[email protected]
      link
      fedilink
      58 months ago

      Canada would operate perfectly fine with nationalized airlines, telecoms, and O&G. These are established industries that don’t need market effects to grow or remain profitable.

      The only reason we don’t is because we’re fucking idiots beholden to capitalism.

  • @SpaceNoodle
    link
    418 months ago

    Ah, I see the airline has moved on from simply degrading disabled people to murdering them. So much more efficient!

    • @Nouveau_Burnswick
      link
      118 months ago

      I did notice in this article they used a wheelchair to move them to the washroom. So maybe they learned for the last one? Or more likely just different kit for different flights.

      • @SpaceNoodle
        link
        38 months ago

        No, that’s the special murderchair they use for when they’re gonna murder someone.

  • Cyborganism
    link
    fedilink
    298 months ago

    Next time just threaten to blow up the plane and pretend you have a bomb in your suitcase ready to blow if they don’t land immediately.

    They’ll care so much about saving their property that they’ll definitely land.

  • Metal Zealot
    link
    fedilink
    198 months ago

    How can a shit-show like Air Canada operate like this for so long??

    AND ALWAYS GET AWAY WITH IT???