Teen boy dies mid-flight on way to visit father for Christmas
A 16-year-old boy has died on board a Delta Airlines flight from Seattle to Atlanta with his mum, grandmother and another sibling.
The plane was diverted to Spokane International Airport, about 300 miles east of Seattle, after the boy died mid-flight.
According to USA Today, airport spokesman Todd Woodard said the boy suffered a medical emergency on Flight 128 on Saturday morning and passed away from natural causes.
Delta spokesman Michael Thomas told the LA Times there were 258 passengers on board at the time of the incident.
According to the Daily Mail, the boy, who suffered from cerebral palsy, was on his way to visit his military veteran father for Christmas when he suffered a cardiac arrest.
The pilot informed passengers they would be performing an emergency landing, and CPR was carried out on the boy.
Spokane Fire Department spokesperson Brian Schaeffer told the paper: "We met them on the ground with our fire fighter paramedics and attempted to resuscitate him for well over 30 minutes."
The airline flew in another crew on Saturday afternoon to fly the remaining passengers onto Atlanta.
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