Family’s heartbreak as man dies on flight to Brisbane
An Air Canada flight bound for Australia has been diverted to Honolulu after a passenger died mid-flight.
Christopher Woodgate, 38, was pronounced dead when the fight landed in Honolulu on Saturday, said Kira Paiva-Kimura, according to 9News.
The flight departed from Vancouver and was headed to Brisbane but diverted due to a medical emergency, according to Peter Fitzpatrick, an Air Canada spokesman.
The man had been sick prior to the flight, according to Jessica Lani Rich of the Visitor Aloha Society of Hawaii.
The man was travelling with five children, his wife and another family member.
The organisation, which provides assistance to visitors in distress, organised a nurse to care overnight for an 11-year-old passenger travelling alone.
There were 257 passengers and 13 crew members on the flight.
The airline provided passengers with hotel and food vouchers and the passengers left Honolulu on Sunday on a different flight.
Chris Woodgate’s wife has since explained how her husband died, leaving their three young children without a father.
“I have been contacted by the Health Department who informed me that Chris passed away from a non-contagious strand of meningitis,” Ms Woodgate told The Daily Mail.
Meningitis is a serious bacterial infection that can cause death in a matter of hours if not treated.