An Arik Air flight with over 100
passengers en route to London Sunday was forced to make an emergency
landing in Palmas, Spain, as a woman went into labour and gave birth while the
aircraft was airborne. The pilot was said to have requested the emergency landing on the advice of two
doctors who were on board the aircraft and had helped the mother deliver the
baby. When the passenger went into labour, the cabin crew asked that doctors on board
the flight to identify themselves. Following the announcement, two of
the passengers came forward, saying they were doctors and assisted in the
delivery of the baby.
Normally, a source disclosed that in the few
instances where women have given birth on board, the aircraft would continue
its flight to its final destination. However, the
Arik flight was forced to make an emergency landing following the
advice of the doctors that the woman was bleeding excessively - she was said to
have experienced excessive haemorrhaging, necessitating the emergency landing.
At the time of this report, both mother and child
were said to have been stable but were left behind in Palmas for monitoring by
medical personnel, while the flight continued on its journey
to London. The airline was trying to ascertain if the woman
had presented a false medical report from her doctor on the true duration of
her pregnancy or she had gone into premature labour while on board
the flight. Women with full term pregnancies are not allowed
to travel by air, according to International Civil Aviation Organisation
(ICAO) regulations. As such, intending pregnant passengers are required to
present medical reports certifying that they are less than 32 weeks pregnant
before they are allowed to fly.
A source said the airline was carrying out a
full-scale investigation to ascertain the genuineness of the medical report
presented by the woman.
Arik Air’s management said yesterday that if it is
discovered that the woman was given a false report to enable her fly, it would
file a special complaint against the doctor who had issued the medical report
to the Nigeria Medical Association (NMA) for endangering her life and that of
the baby, as well that of other passengers on board the flight.
Source: Thisday
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