SIA pilot ‘refused to land’ for heart attack victim: report
Singapore Airlines is in the spotlight after a passenger had allegedly been forced to endure a 14-hour flight from Singapore to London while suffering a heart attack.
Award-winning BBC radio presenter Max Pearson claimed SIA cabin crew had refused requests to reroute the plane to the nearest hospital so he could receive urgent medical attention, the UK's Daily Mail reported on Sunday.
The 51-year-old was in Japan for a week to cover the recent Sendai tsunami catastrophe, and flew a SIA flight from Tokyo to Singapore before boarding a connecting flight bound for London which landed on March 18.
Moments after the plane took off from Changi Airport, Pearson suffered a cardiac arrest and asked for the pilot to divert the plane, but his request was rejected for some unknown reasons, said the UK paper, quoting an unnamed BBC source.
Fortunately, Pearson managed to pull through the entire 14-hour flight with the medical attention of one of the passengers, who was a doctor. As soon as the plane touched down at London Heathrow International Airport, he was immediately rushed by ambulance to Harefield Hospital and underwent emergency surgery which saved his life.
According to the BBC source, "He says he asked for them to redirect him to hospital but it didn't happen. After that it was touch-and-go whether he was going to make the 14-hour flight, but amazingly he did."
Pearson is said to have suffered long-term heart damage as a result, and is considering taking legal action against the airline over the incident.
When contacted, a spokesperson for Singapore Airlines refused to comment.
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