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Flight crew of a super MD80 diverted to land after cabin attendant advised of seriously ill small child passenger. Cabin attendant reported that the aircraft crew were not informed about the serious medical status of the child and therefore, believes that boarding agents should ask more questions of passenger prior to boarding.
| Attributes | |
| ACN | 390644 |
| Time | |
| Date | 199712 |
| Day | Mon |
| Local Time Of Day | 1201 To 1800 |
| Place | |
| Locale Reference | atc facility : zkc |
| State Reference | MO |
| Environment | |
| Light | Night |
| Aircraft 1 | |
| Controlling Facilities | artcc : zkc |
| Operator | common carrier : air carrier |
| Make Model Name | MD-80 Super 80 |
| Operating Under FAR Part | Part 121 |
| Flight Phase | cruise other other |
| Flight Plan | IFR |
| Person 1 | |
| Affiliation | company : air carrier |
| Function | flight attendant : on duty |
| Qualification | other other : other |
| ASRS Report | 390644 |
| Person 2 | |
| Affiliation | company : air carrier |
| Function | flight crew : captain oversight : pic |
| Qualification | pilot : atp |
| Events | |
| Anomaly | other anomaly other |
| Independent Detector | other other : unspecified |
| Resolutory Action | other |
| Consequence | Other |
| Supplementary | |
| Air Traffic Incident | other |
Narrative:
Flight was of a medical nature. We diverted to wichita, ks, because of a critically ill infant (about 9 months). Apparently the infant had just been released from the hospital a few days earlier with meningitis. Also, the infant had a tube inserted in the stomach. I feel that maybe airlines should have stricter policies regarding air travel while sick or at least we should have been made aware of how sick this child was. Understanding of course the thousands of people that do travel everyday it would be very hard to know everything about every passenger, but maybe a simple question at check-in for example: 'is anyone in your party ill or need special attention during the flight?' 'what kind of illness?' due to the seriousness of the infant's illness which is highly contagious (through bodily fluids) one of our flight attendants that came in contact with bodily fluids was removed from the rest of the trip.
Original NASA ASRS Text
Title: FLC OF A SUPER MD80 DIVERTED TO LAND AFTER CABIN ATTENDANT ADVISED OF SERIOUSLY ILL SMALL CHILD PAX. CABIN ATTENDANT RPTED THAT THE ACFT CREW WERE NOT INFORMED ABOUT THE SERIOUS MEDICAL STATUS OF THE CHILD AND THEREFORE, BELIEVES THAT BOARDING AGENTS SHOULD ASK MORE QUESTIONS OF PAX PRIOR TO BOARDING.
Narrative: FLT WAS OF A MEDICAL NATURE. WE DIVERTED TO WICHITA, KS, BECAUSE OF A CRITICALLY ILL INFANT (ABOUT 9 MONTHS). APPARENTLY THE INFANT HAD JUST BEEN RELEASED FROM THE HOSPITAL A FEW DAYS EARLIER WITH MENINGITIS. ALSO, THE INFANT HAD A TUBE INSERTED IN THE STOMACH. I FEEL THAT MAYBE AIRLINES SHOULD HAVE STRICTER POLICIES REGARDING AIR TRAVEL WHILE SICK OR AT LEAST WE SHOULD HAVE BEEN MADE AWARE OF HOW SICK THIS CHILD WAS. UNDERSTANDING OF COURSE THE THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE THAT DO TRAVEL EVERYDAY IT WOULD BE VERY HARD TO KNOW EVERYTHING ABOUT EVERY PAX, BUT MAYBE A SIMPLE QUESTION AT CHK-IN FOR EXAMPLE: 'IS ANYONE IN YOUR PARTY ILL OR NEED SPECIAL ATTN DURING THE FLT?' 'WHAT KIND OF ILLNESS?' DUE TO THE SERIOUSNESS OF THE INFANT'S ILLNESS WHICH IS HIGHLY CONTAGIOUS (THROUGH BODILY FLUIDS) ONE OF OUR FLT ATTENDANTS THAT CAME IN CONTACT WITH BODILY FLUIDS WAS REMOVED FROM THE REST OF THE TRIP.
Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of July 2007 and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.