A Hawaiian Airlines flight bound for New York was diverted to San Francisco after a crew member died on board, according to an airport spokesman.
Flight 50 landed at San Francisco International Airport at 11:05 p.m. Thursday after a crew member had a suspected heart attack during the flight, the spokesman said. NBC affiliate Hawaii News Now reported that the person was a flight attendant with more than 30 years of experience.
Medical personnel on board the flight attempted CPR on the flight attendant, but stopped while the plane was still in the air, the spokesman said. The San Mateo County Coroner declared the person dead when the flight landed.
The flight left Daniel K. Inouye International Airport in Honolulu at 4:13 p.m. Thursday, due to land at John F. Kennedy International Airport Friday morning, according to flight tracking website FlightAware. Instead, the flight landed at San Francisco International Airport at 11:05 p.m.
One passenger told Hawaii News Now that those aboard the flight were only told that there was an emergency, but they were left largely unaware of what was going on. She said when the plane landed in San Francisco, they sat on the runway for almost two hours waiting for the coroner.
The airport spokesman said passengers were later re-accommodated on other flights to New York.
Hawaiian Airlines did not reply to a request for comment.
