Friday, July 25, 2008

Aditya’s Parents' Question to Jet Airways and Aviation Authorities

Sir/Ma’am

Request for investigation into condition of the flight leading to the death of our infant son, Aditya Mohan, who died on Jet Airways Flight 229 ( BrusselsDelhi ), 17th June 2008

I would like to highlight a few facts about incidents prior, during and after the Jet Airways flight 229 from Brussels to Delhi on17th June 2008 in which our infant son, Aditya Mohan Died.

Based on these and other facts, I would like to request a thorough investigation of the airline and its practices to ensure that no other parent ever suffers through this ordeal of seeing their child die in their hands.

Regards

Copy to:

  • European Aviation Safety Agency
  • The Belgian Civil Aviation Authority
  • The Canadian Air Transport Security Authority
  • Federal Aviation Administration
  • Directorate General Civil Aviation (DGCA) India
  • Naresh Goyal, Founder Chairman of Jet Airways
  • CEO/MD, Infosys Technologies Ltd (employer)
  • Commissioner of Police, New Delhi


Incident: Infant Aditya Mohan died on Jet Airways Flight 229 ( BrusselsDelhi ), 17th June 2008

Our Flight itinerary:
9W 225 Toronto => Brussels (16 June)
9W 229 Brussels => Delhi (17 June)

Airline: Jet Airways

Deceased: Aditya Mohan. Canadian Citizen and Person of Indian Origin. Age: Approx 4.5 months(DOB: 26 Jan 2008). Declared ‘Dead on Arrival’ by doctor from Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGI) on board the aircraft.

Cause of death as per autopsy: Asphyxiation due to chocking

Our baby died on board the aircraft on Jet Airways Flight229 (BrusselsDelhi). After the seat-belt signs had been turned on for descent of the flight into Delhi, my wife started feeding the baby. We were advised that this is normal procedure since feeding helps the baby relax during landing. While feeding, my wife realized that the baby had suddenly stopped sucking. We then buzzed for Cabin-crew and also removed seat-belts and rushed to their station. They looked at the baby and also decided to page passengers to see if there was a doctor on board. There was a doctor on board who came and looked at the baby but he did not look too hopeful. The crew then informed the ground staff at IGI and they got a doctor on board immediately on landing. When the doctor boarded, he declared the baby dead on arrival.

The IGI airport police then boarded the aircraft and took a statement from the airline staff and us. The police and staff then escorted my wife and self out of the aircraft and later decided to take the baby to the morgue at Safdarjung Hospital . The next morning, I went with my relative and waited for autopsy to be completed and took the remains of baby for his last rites.

The autopsy states the cause of death as “asphyxiation due to chocking.” I am given to understand that this is a rarest of rare case.However, the fact that the baby suddenly died in the aircraft during descent,warrants an investigation into extraneous circumstances.

Aditya had been examined by our family doctor in Toronto , Dr. Tasneem Hussain, a few days prior to travel and he was in perfect health. The ticket check-in staff of Jet Airways in Toronto also came and played with a laughing Aditya at the time of departure. To my knowledge, Aditya was the only infant on board Flight 229. On the earlier flight that we took (9W 225) there was another mother with a baby who had requested a bassinet and sat next to us. While this by itself is not significant, it makes me wonder if the conditions on Flight 229 were conducive to travel of infants. The airline should provide information on whether there were any other babies or infirm passengers on board the flight or all the other passengers were healthy adults?

There are a few incidents specific to the flight 229,before, during and after that I wish to highlight, which demand a thorough investigation of the airline and its practices to ensure that no parent of ayoung infant ever undergoes such an ordeal.

· Issue 1: Temperature of cabin during flight. On the flight from Toronto to Brussels (9W 225), most fellow passengers had used the blankets provided in the aircraft. Even I had worn my coat during the flight and Aditya slept comfortably in the bassinet with a sleeper, sweater and cap on. On Flight 229, the temperature was certainly warmer. Most fellow passengers did not use the blankets provided. Aditya was uncomfortable in his sleeper and we had to only use his undershirt. The questions that need to be answered:

    • Why this visible variation in temperature between flights into and out of Brussels ?
    • What was the exact recorded temperature of cabin area where we were seated on both flights (Flight 225 and Flight 229)?

· Issue 2: Cabin air pressure and level of oxygen in the flight and during landing. At the time of descent in Brussels on Flight 225, my wife and I did not experience any discomfort. Baby Aditya was feeding his mothers’ milk and he was perfectly okay after the flight and during the three hour stopover. During the descent of flight 229 into Delhi , both my wife and I experienced extreme pain in our ears, while Aditya was feeding his mothers milk. This was during his final moments and he must have felt extreme discomfort.

    • Was our discomfort due to the sudden change in cabin pressure?
    • What was the cabin pressure recorded on the flight at the time of landing. Was the recorded air pressure in the cabin normal for infants?
    • Has there been a record of such change leading to other complications in babies?
    • Was the level of oxygen in the cabin normal/adequate for infants?

· Issue 3: Safety procedures. I have frequently traveled by air and realize that curtains are drawn back during landing and take off. I am given to understand that this is standard procedure to allow crew to have a view of the cabin. I remember that my wife and I had to pull back the curtains when we rushed Aditya to the cabin crew during descent.

    • Would the cabin crew have had a line of vision of this emergency if the curtains had been drawn back?
    • Why was this basic safety procedure not followed?
    • Were there other similar procedures which I am not aware of, that were not followed?

· Issue 4: Cabin Crew training for emergencies: I realize that cabin crew are not trained para-medics,and cannot be expected to do much beyond administering basic first-aid. When we realized that Aditya was not responding and we took him to the Crew station, the gentleman (I forget his name) tried putting oxygen mask on Aditya, after which he realized that the mask was not connected to the green oxygen tank. Minutes were lost in this while Sujatha and I along with the other cabin crew stood frozen and shocked. I cannot take the image of the shocked, young air crew struggling with Aditya from my mind. The air crew continued to struggle till a fellow passenger/Doctor was paged but I think we may have lost a lot of time by then.

I also recall the passenger-Doctor looking at the medical bag and asking the Crew if there was a certain injection in the bag. I forget the name of the injection but I recall the crew saying that they did not have it.

    • The Cabin Crew should be trained better in administering first-response, including administering oxygen during real emergencies. What is Jet Airways going to do to improve?
    • Why did the medical kit not contain the injection that the Doctor requested?

· Issue 5: Jet Airways not prepared for infants: My wife and I had called Jet Airways two days prior to our travel and specifically requested a seat with a bassinet. On the flight from Toronto to Brussels (9W 225) we were assigned a seat with a bassinet. On boarding the flight 229, my wife and I realized that we did not have a bassinet seat pre-assigned.

The Cabin Crew did manage to shift us to a seat with a bassinet but the passenger seated there refused to vacate even though the flight was not even half full. Later during the flight she moved to a vacant seat elsewhere. However, at the time of landing the lady came back and sat next to my wife, who was trying to feed the baby. The stewardess noticed this and asked the lady to move back but was not able to persuade her to move. This was minutes before the seat belt sign was announced for landing. While this by itself may not be a cause, my wife was certainly distracted by the sudden presence of the passenger next to her while she was trying to breast-feed and care for Aditya during what turned out to be his final moments. We pointed this out to the staff after the incident but they claimed helplessness.

    • Why was a bassinet not pre-assigned to us on this flight even though a prior request had been made?
    • Why is the Jet Airways Cabin Crew not empowered to enforce a request to move passenger for comfort of other passengers with infants especially on a flight that is half empty?

· Issue 6: Jet Airways’ Lack of emergency handling procedure.

After the aircraft landed at IGI,a ground doctor boarded the aircraft, examined Aditya and declared him ‘dead on arrival’ and sat down and proceed to ask questions and write a report. After that, a Police Inspector from IGI boarded the aircraft to take statements. My wife and I were in total shock and were unable to think but now the questions keeps coming back to haunt us

    • Why was there no ambulance waiting near the aircraft?
    • Why was Aditya not rushed to a local hospital for examination (and possible resuscitation) ?
    • Why was the airline and ground-staff in a hurry to ‘close the matter’ by escorting Aditya to the morgue? Why was the baby not rushed to a nearby hospital?

· Issue 7: Lack of basic courtesy and dignity for shocked and grieving family at IGI Airport .

After Aditya was declared dead on board the aircraft the police and staff escorted us to the immigration hall at IGI, which was an open room with fellow passengers and others watching me carry the body of my baby with my wife. After we were escorted to the international transit lounge, we stood in an open area with other waiting passengers staring at us. Only when I objected to this that the staff escorted us to a room which happened to be a ticket booth with an open glass door. We were asked to wait there while the police and airline staff tried to figure out ground transportation to the morgue. Only when I objected to this that the airline staff rushed to arrange taxis instead of waiting for another vehicle.

    • Why is there an utter lack of dignity during the time of shock and grief?
    • Should the staff not be trained to handle emergencies with courtesy and dignity?

As a parent, I will continue to re-live Aditya’s final moments, asking myself if I could have done anything different to save the life of our child. I will never be able to forgive myself for not having acted differently, whatever that action could have been. Similarly, I want Jet Airways and authorities to conduct a more thorough investigation of the above and other aspects and provide me the answers.

I am sure there are experts who can quickly analyze data from the flight and determine variances from normal. A thorough investigation into the data from the flight is warranted. My goal is to ensure that no other parent ever suffers through this ordeal.

Grieving Parent

Please sign the Petition to ensure investigation of the incident

81 comments:

Anonymous said...

All my sympathies to the parents.

Anonymous said...

Very sad incident indeed.

Subhrajyoti Ghatak said...

My heartfelt empathies!!

I am father of a toddler and the incident shocked me.

I am AGITATED!!!!

Agitated due to the lack of expertise of Jet airways and as well as behavior of the parent of that innocent baby.

There may be some solid reasons but I dont know How on the earth you planned to make the baby travel half a way around the world, when he is just 4.5 months old!!!!

Airplane travel is avoided for babies below 6 months, but many people go for short trips, BUT a 24HOURS JOURNEY!!!!! unthinkable!!!

Parenting comes with huge responsibility.

I am extremely sorry for the harsh comment and I can not even think of the magnitude of the sorrow you are going through,but was unable to hold my emotions!

I am signing the petition. My heart goes with the poor baby.

Ramadoss Magesh said...

Our sincere heartfelt condolences. We can relate to what it is to lose a child and empathize with what you must be going through and our thoughts are with both of you.

Warm regards,
Magesh & Sunitha

Anonymous said...

I am so sorry for your loss. I know what it is to lose a child. My daughter reposed in 2001. Since I fly a lot, I often think about would occur to me on a flight if I were ill. I have never seen literature pertaining to such a situation.

Kulasekhar said...

My sympathies and heartfelt condolence to the grieving parents.

Goli said...

I sympathize with parents. But to be fair, I really dont think Jet airways could have done much.

For the kids in our family, we dont allow them to fly, until they are 1-2 years of age, because logically to me it looks unsafe simply because in the mid-air there is nothing much that you can do. Same goes with old people. Guess families have to be more responsible.

Known Stranger said...

was this just a blog awarness or seriously sent to the concerned persons in Jet airways too ? I do sympathies with your loss and I appreciate your courage to voice it so it bring awarness amidst your loss.

Anonymous said...

Is there any progress on petition front ?

We are all with you in this hour of grievance. I have also forwarded the petition mail to all I know.

Cuckoo

arathi said...

My sincere prayers to god to give the parents the strength to deal with their grief and heal their pain with time and love ...

Anonymous said...

My deepest condolences.....
The jet airways must answer the questions of the helpless parents...

- priya

Anonymous said...

Known Stranger:
Thanks for the comment

If you read the letter, a copy of it has been sent to all authorities. I also met with Jet Airways' GM at Infosys office with a VP from Infoys.They said they would get back but haven't. Hence the reason to build support with my petition.

Anonymous said...

My deep condolences to the parents. I pray to GOD to give strength to Aditya's parents to handle this. I am presonally moved by this. And yes any authority commiting such a crime should be punished. Every point mentioned above is valid and I agree with you...they should be definitely be punished.

Praveen Kumar P S said...

My heartfelt condolences. Am signing the petition. Am a father of 5 months old. I share your grievance

Anonymous said...

May God give you and your wife the strength to go through this phase.

Vidya

Anonymous said...

I travelled in Jet Airways from Madras to EWR on Jun 16th 2008. I was promised/booked for a bassinet but I was not assigned a bassinet inside the flight. I was arguing with the crew member but no one paid any attention.

A white man who was with no kids was assigned a bassinet seat. He said that he would sit somwhere else and he helped me and not the Jet airways crew members.

I will never ever fly in Jet Airways again.

Anonymous said...

Really sad... I cannot convey in words.

Anonymous said...

Really sad...feel very bad.

May God give you the strength to endure this.

Anonymous said...

My deep condolences to parents. May god give them the strength.

Anonymous said...

I am really sorry for your loss. My deepest condolences to you and your family.

Unknown said...

may god bless Aditya's soul and give strength to the parents .

Anonymous said...

Emergencies situations though rare are not that infrequent on airlines. Airline staff should definitely get extremely good training for emergency situations. Did anyone even administer CPR on the baby. I didn't see that written anywhere and that would have been the first response expected.

Anonymous said...

I am so terribly sorry to hear about this. God bless you with strength and courage. God bless Aditya's immortal soul.
Regards,
pallavi

Anonymous said...

I can understand what a shock this must be for the parents and for everyone else who reads this.

But then when I think about everything thats happened, the choking is what caused the death and the baby was probably choked because of the feeding. Please understand, I dont intend to upset anyone. However, to me this seems logical to assume that probably feeding was not the best idea for baby aditya, while other babies find it helpful to relax during landing.

About the petition, I wont sign it simply coz we have been online for more than a decade now and how many of these petitions have we read... do we ever hear that something was done about it?

NO, never. So lets not be the people who sit around browsing thru interesting news and support causes by a click of a button - IT DOES NOT ACHIEVE ANYTHING.

You wanna fight? I'm in it but not online, in real... in person.

I will pray that the parents of baby Aditya find peace within and find the courage to move on. My condolences.

Anonymous said...

My sympathies, pray god gives you the strength to go through this loss.

Subbu Subramanian said...

I am terribly shocked and sad after reading this. My prayers to you and your family.

Anonymous said...

I am shocked and deeply disturbed as I read this. I can understand the magnitude of loss and sorrow you are going through. My deepest sympathies go out to your family. May God bless you and your family with courage and healing in this time.

I want to take this opportunity to reach out the multitudes of people who are going to travel with infants. Our baby boy is now 6mos old. We have traveled with him quiet a bit. Airline seats are very crammed!!!When you travel with a little one and plan on breastfeeding during landing and take off pay special attention - to the child! If your attention is off the baby for even just a couple seconds its a reciepe for irrecoverable disaster.

One of the first things I was taught at the hospital after our son was born was breastfeeding. The nursing consultants particularly stressed that I constantly watch the baby as I feed him. Women's breasts become enlarged and usually block the feeding infant's nose. The mother needs to make sure she depresses the breast so the baby can breathe and she needs to watch him closely/constantly.

I agree with dodo - Parenting does come with a lot of responsibiliy. With these tiny little tender ones we only get one chance.

Atiya said...

Our heartfelt sympathies to the parents,i have 2 kids n your incident really shocked us..

Anonymous said...

May God give both you the mental strength!! May Aditya's soul rest in peace.

Anonymous said...

This is an extremely sad incident. My sympathies to the parents. But I am not sure if the Airline could have done much more than what they did. Once I was flying and someone had a heart attack ! The crew memebers looked for a doctor in the flight and luckily found one but that can not be the case everytime. As passengers we expect that the airline staff members are ready for any kind of flight related emergencies but we cannot expect them to be prepared to deal with any kind of medical emergencies ! May be some one could have performed CPR on the baby, did any of the parents knew CPR ? Chocking can occur in an infant while breast feeding even if they are not flying. This seems to be a sad incident but in my opinion it could not have occured due to anything the Airline did or did not do. Sometimes bad things happen to good people and no one is to blame.

1conoclast said...

Terribly sorry to hear about your loss. God will grant the innocent child a place in His heaven. And may He help assuage the grief that the parents feel. God will give you the strength to bear this loss.

I know what it feels like to lose a child. Our son was stillborn & the shock was very big. A friend of mine lost his one year old daughter to cancer. Such unfortunate things happen. You must not feel alone and you must be strong. God be with you.

Kanya said...

I am really sorry for your loss. In your profile snap of aditya, he does look like a healthy infant. I am surprised that a flight for infants could go soo disasterous.

I hope someone from jet airways takes responsibility for this loss and you get your concerns answered.

As about safety measure from the parents side, I believe we could all re-think about flying our infants on a long journey!!

May god give you the strength through this difficult times. And I am sure I will remember Aditya's face for a long time!!

Anonymous said...

My deepfelt sympathies to the grieving parents. Am amother of a toddler n Fly jet airways to get to India from canada. Actually am taking their flight to chennai tommorrow. Am agitatted n nervous too. I can undersatnd how bad the parents wud ve felt. The authorities do need to take the necessray action n probe in to the cause.

Anonymous said...

I'm so deeply sad about this incident as i too have a baby of 9 months and can imagine how important the child is in a parents life.

May your voice be heard and get justice in this, which will atleast give you some satisfaction to fight this unforgettable incident of life.

God give your wife and you all the strenghts to bear this loss.

BLISS said...

EXTREMELY SHOCKED to read this..!
i think you shoul sue jet airways.i have know many parents travelling with infants. This definitely needs deep probing.
may god give you the strength .
heartfelt condolences.

Anonymous said...

Very sad indeed, and sorry for your loss.

Just a couple of points.
The Injection that was being looked for was possibly Adrenaline or some other stimulant (such as ephadrine). This would be injected - possibly straight to the heart - to stimulate the heart to start working again.


The doctor who examined Aditya at the airport declared him Dead on Arrival. How far away was the hospital? Even if there was an ambulance waiting, how long would it have taken to get Aditya to the hospital? By going straight to the morgue, this may be seen by yourselves as obscene haste , but really, what did you expect to be achieved by going to the hospital? Please question yourself as to what you wanted to achieve by going to the hospital with a child that had already been declared dead. The chances of resus in such situations are minute to non existent, especially if there was no ambulance. Even if he did come back, there was every likelihood that he would be extremely brain damaged due to lack of oxygen, with no quality of life for either him, or you and your wife. Is this the life you saw for your family? Truly?

I know you were probably in a daze with everything, but there's also a lot of "cant remembers" and "didnt catch" in your statement. You also need to get

1) names of the cabin crew and pilot
2) Name of the doctor on board and the doctor who declared your child dead (the latter should be on the death cert)
3) Statements from 1 & 2 - this can be obtained either by yourself or your lawyers
4) Copy of the autopsy report and the names of the doctors who did the autopsy

t.k. formerly known as thomman said...

My sympathies with the parents. Though the airline might not be directly responsible for the mishap, the company could handle this much better to help them go through this horrible experience.

Amit said...

It is a sad moment, and my heart goes out for the parents. No amount of discussing, petitioning, and questioning is going to alleviate their pain...

That being said, rather than calling out Jet Airways, this should be a case against all airlines. Do any of them have these emergency facilities in place? How many of them have basic courtesy? How many of them dont have horror stories that they would want to bury... The options for a user is to either make a wise choice, or be responsible for the choices he makes..

RYK said...

I am truly very very sorry. My heart goes out to Aditya's parents, to loose a life with so much ahead is a truly terrible thing.

How does one accept a situation like this. One is so depressed and angry at the same time that one needs to take out the anger & depression somewhere.

I think you must try and move on from the terrible thing somehow. Leave this behind somehow.

Anonymous said...

Not many knew this,the one in charge of the safety training and a chief trainer himself was an ex inflight supervisor from SIA who is unqualified in this area. He was recruited by the team of jet airways interviewers in Singapore a few years ago when he went for his inflight supervisor position in jet airways. He was declared short in his height but because the interviewer who was his ex batchmate in MSA "pull string" him in as a safety trainer. He himself was pleasantly surprised.

Anonymous said...

My heart felt condolence to both of you ! It is difficult to write anything as no words can overcome the grief this sudden turn of destiny has given you. How cute Aditya was. Everybody who came to know about this was shocked.

I have signed the petition and sincerely hope that Jet Airways will conduct an inquiry in the matter. In this moment of grief, I extend my full support to both of you. May God give you the courage to bear this sorrow.

Boh Tong aka Luke Tan said...

I am sorry to hear about your baby. It really sad but one consolation is that babies go straight to heaven on passing away. It's so because they are innocent and sinless. Btw I've insert a little comment about your predicarment in my blog.

Anonymous said...

Very very sorry. Was very shocking.

I definately think your questions above do prove a point about the untrained staff. Surprising that no one thought of mouth to mouth breathing right away.

Rita Meher said...

I am very sad for your loss. Please take care of yourself and your wife. Please don't continue to be mad at yourself; it was a new situation with an infant; and I hope you two heal soon.

Anonymous said...

this has been a very irresponsible act by the members of the crew and the authorities of Jet Airways and and the people associated with the same should be taken to task. My heartfely empathies..... and I am sure..... the people would be punished for their act and necessary amendments to the practices of the airways be brought at the earliest. I am signing the petition and shall fwd to as many people as poss.

Karthik said...

Why can't the consumer court be approached and these questions be put to them? Especially the ones concerning the allocation of seat with bassinet, absence of emergency equipments and also the absence of an ambulance on landing. How can a doctor enter the aircraft w/o even the basic emergency equipments? Taking the baby to an ambulance would have been more beneficial. I understand that you would have just froze at the moment of this terrible disaster. But now, you shouldn't stop with these letters. The concerned parties must be legally forced to respond. If not punished, there must atleast not be such negligence in the future. This is in the interest of every one.

Anonymous said...

My sincere apologies. I have signed the petition as you have raised valid concerns that demand an investigation.

Yet, I am not sure if its a recommended action to fly a long distance along with an infant who is barely 5 months old.

My sympathies to you, as you went through such a great loss.

Anonymous said...

Dear Sir,
please do update us on the status of your enquiry. Has Jet Airways responded yet ?
Regards,
pallavi

garyg said...

My condolences go out to you and your family.

Anonymous said...

God...please give enough strength to the parents, and bless little Aditya's immortal soul.

I strongly wish that justice prevail.

Anonymous said...

Mimi says.....
I am a grandmother and really felt so heart broken when I read about Baby Aditya's sudden and uncalled for death. WHY WHY we can all ask did this happen to a perfectly healthy and lovely child?

My heart goes out to the young parents and I can only pray that Jesus will heal your wounded hearts, at this time of your loss.

Nothing we do or say can bring Aditya back, but oh how I wish Jet Airways and all the other Airways will have the necessary first aid and other equipment for emergencies such as this.

God bless you and strengthen you.

Satya Narayan Dash said...

Shocking and the way it has been handled by Airline staffs is just too insensitive.

My heartfelt condolences to the parents. May GOD be give you strength in this moment of crisis.

Anonymous said...

Deepest sympathies. I hope you get the strength and perseverance to stick it out with the right authorities.

Jishad said...

What are the latest updates?

Anonymous said...

All my sympathies to the parents.

I can fully understand the pains of parents. I lost my 2 days old daughter because of asphyxiation due to chocking in hospital 4 years ago.The nurses in hospital were not trained to take care of the situation. In our case also we were unable to ascertain the exact cause as the doctors did not reveal much and I was not able to do anything as i myself was in great shock.

My full sympathies and I would request the concerned authorities to probe the incident and come out with the exact cause for the incident. The same should not be repeated to anyone else.

Harish Kumar said...

All I can say is - don't lose heart. May God give you the strength to get through this.
Take care.

Krish said...

The loss of an infant is terrible. Few things have made me sadder. Please accept my sincere condolences. We can probe and analyze to extremes but for parents in general, I would add my two cents here -

1. Jet lags can be really stressful even for the strongest among people. Avoid travel with an infant, especially if it is to be breast fed. All other things can wait. The mother should always stay docked to earth. Think of the reason why people have to travel – to do business? to attend a function / see an ailing relative back home? Keep the kid out of the itinerary. It can always take that flight later in life, when (s)he is up to it.

2. Airlines are basically carriers and no hospitality chambers. No matter how well trained the crew is or how hospitable and accommodating the fellow passengers are, it’s after all a flying machine that you're in and its systems can always malfunction. Name of the airline or the class you fly hardly matters. The captain can hit all the right switches, turn all right knobs, yet the silly duct may have a block. As simple as that. Every flight you take is a risk and you’re actually winning a life lottery each time you have a safe touch down. Why put a kid through it all that it never asked for?

Mohan, I know it's tough but you should get over this over time. May God bless you with more children soon!

Anonymous said...

My condolences to the parents -- it is very tragic. I know you will have the courage and strength to move on.

Anonymous said...

Very sad to hear this.My heartfelt condolences.

Anonymous said...

My Sympathies.

They say that all the staff should be well trained for international duties, and I think they took it light. The airlines has to answer.

With Jet Airways being questioned regularly on source of funds and its investors, at least they should make sure everything is alright in terms of emergency handling.

I did not get cotton roll to stuff in my ears, in a long flight from Delhi to Chennai. Luckily I was wearing a silk tie and tied it around my ears for 2.5 hours of flight duration. I developed ear pain, and it took a month

I ensured that I never travel the same airline again. (A point to make - during 1992 when I was returning after a trip to US, one side of the seat belt came off in the JFK to Frankfurt leg - I was immediately moved to first class and continued in same in the Bombay leg. They also gave me a free round trip US to India.)

Did you call Sharad Pawar, Praful Patel who are good politicians. Their numbers can be found on net.

Did the insurance company pay up?

-Ramesh

Anonymous said...

Have you contemplated an FIR or legal action? It will automatically lead to an investigation by an external agency (non Jet Airways).

Santosh Maskar said...

My sympathies to the Parents.

Anonymous said...

Really Really sad . I myself am mother of a 1 yr old and i can understand what the parents must be going through.

Sorry for your loss. May aditya's soul rest in peace.

Anonymous said...

My sympathies to you and your family. Did you think about contacting the media??

Anonymous said...

Terribly sorry for this incident. Am now in tears after reading this incident. Wish such a thing never happens in future for any kid.

My deepest condolences to the parents. May the kid's soul rest in peace.

Karthik said...

Cant believe Jet airways has not been responsive to you after this incident. After all, most of the Infy people travel by Jet airways for Europe/US travels. I think you should ask Infosys management to put more pressure on Jet.

Allinhadrons said...

I just called Jet Airways US toll free number (1-877-835-9538). I told the Jet airways official that I had a 3 year old kid and I do not feel safe flying with Jet Airways anymore after the tragedy that happened with lovely Aditya. To my surprise, that person did not even know about the incident but he was anyway eager to help me (or grab my money).
I realise that Jet Airways is all about business and money. I am a dad and I'll certainly not fly Jet Airways. You guys should use your own heart and mind to figure out your plans.

Anonymous said...

My deepest condolences to the family. I can feel the pain u must be undergoing. May god help you and your family in overcoming this extreme disaster in life.

Would like to share few tips, regarding travelling with babies as we cannot always blame or make someone else responsible when its too late. Self help is the best help when it comes to this kind of situation.

1) Try to avoid travelling with babies less than 1 year of age.
Even if u travel give the baby something to chew on for every landing n takeoff either a pacifier or a bottle nipple. This would prevent the choking hazard and also the weird sensation that is produced in the ears due to less oxygen supply. This might also lead to fatal effect. Atleast use ear plugs if they are not chewing on anything.

2. Parents should know some basic first aid knowledge.

3. Always have a check on baby even when he is sleeping.

4. Avoid breastfeeding while landing n take off. U can do bottle feeding-that too if the baby is feeling comfortable.

Sorry, once again. Will definitely support u by signing this petition.

ksn

Anonymous said...

Having just about made it back after a few days in an ICU after an aviation related incident which started with bad air and low air pressure onboard a Spicejet flight DEL-PNQ which took over 4 hours due to holds and delays, I have studied this subject as well as spoken with airline crew (cockpit and cabin) and followed up with aviation medicine specialists.

For openers, please search the term "toxic airplanes" or "toxic aviation".

Next, be aware that in the name of fuel economy, we are getting terrible air on board.

Finally. extra warm cabins and bad air pressure means one thing - the Commander and the airline have fiddled with the amount of recirculated air onboard and the air drawn through the engines, known as "bleed" air. This saves fuel, and the cockpit crew's bonus depends on this.

The RTI Act in India is one tool that will help at MoCA, DGCA and with BCAS. In addition, data on other such episodes can be sought, and brought forward.

Very sorry to hear about your deep personal loss, parents of Aditya, and more strength to you in taking this forward.


Here's the thread at airliners-india.net:-
http://airlinersindia.s4.bizhat.com/viewtopic.php?t=4382&mforum=airlinersindia

Here are my comments on the subject:-

One more aspect to the whole episode as well as to the larger issue of health onboard is that with larger number of passengers onboard and longer duration flights, the regulatory authorities as well as airlines need to start placing trained paramedics as well as maybe soon even doctors onboard aircraft.

Cabincrew are increasingly, especially with private airlines in India, selected for their looks and appearance. Beyond a very basic St. John's Ambulance/Red Cross First Aid Course, they get hardly any training in medical treatment, and believe me - having done one of those courses - 2 weeks, 2 hours in the evening goofing off and listening to boring lectures on "what is trauma" - they, OK most of them, have not the faintest clue of what a passenger having any of a variety of aviation induced problems is going through and how to react.

More interested in doing hisaab on food and goods sold onboard than anything else, can you expect petty salespersons to save your life on a plane?

First hand experience - when I was almost dying and collapsing in a front row seat onboard Spicejet on landing Pune about 45 days ago - and almost 15 minutes after the doors were opened but passengers were not disembarked from the front door because the airline was trying some new stunt of letting pax out only through the back door and the front ladder was ready only for taking the cleaning crew onboard AND the front cabin crew was having an argument with one of the other frontrow passengers about a missing wristwatch that she had tried to sell - all the cabin crew could do was try to restrain me onboard while I kept croaking "medical emergency medical emergency". I eventually just ran down the steps and fell into the hands of the CISF guys and local Spicejet staff who know me, are better trained for this, took one look at me, raced me to a fast taxi, and 15 minutes later I was in an ICU with high end medical interventions on. Left to the airline, I would have died inside their airplane if left to the tender mercies of the cabin crew.

So I understand where the couple who lost their baby are coming from. A trained paramedic racing to a collapsing baby would have done much more than a doctor summoned well after landing, especially a trained paramedic who has been on airplanes or is trained especially for aviation.

Incidentally - for ships - any ship having more than 12 passengers onboard needs a fully qualified medic onboard. In the old days, till a few decades ago, that meant a proper qualified ship's doctor. Nowadays you don't have such small passenger ships, but even a ferry crossing the English Channel in a few hours - has a full medical staff on board.

And the air we get on board ships is far cleaner than what we get on planes lately.

Forget all the fancy stuff served onboard - the airline which starts advertising emergency medical facilities onboard is going to be the one that really brings in a product differentiating it from others. 600-800 people inside a tube with restricted air without a doctor - even the most meagre of army camps with a few dozen people working at 10000 foot altitude have fully qualified medical personnel and facilities.

What do these multi billion dollar airplanes have?

Zilch. A lady in a tight skirt who would not know a stroke or heart attack if it happened in front of her in spades and buckets.
+++

My email address is veereshmalik at gmail dot com . . . and I have started using trains a lot more lately.

Sreeja Jay said...

My deepest condolences to the parents of Baby Aditya. I am a mother as well and i know how it feels but the lack of an expertise paramedic on board is simply ridiculous. Jet Airways being a reputable airline must see that these basic safety and medical aids must be provided on board. Such irresponsible behaviour by the crew and the airport staff calls for a through investigation and i strongly support Aditya's parents in this initiative.

Anonymous said...

very sad indeed, but plz understand there is not much we can do when in the air, im a pilot for an airline and i was a cabin crew before that, i understand what you are goin thru, but as i said we cant do much, pilots are simply busy with the hectic procedures when in descent,and the cabin crew are trained,they are trained well but u cannot expect them to be doctors right, me and my crew hav helped many passengers with heart attacks ,choking and various other problems, but its sad that no one appreciates. we fail once and everyone wants to sue us and punish us!!!! we are air crew not air Gods , i hope someone who reads this understands me and changes his mind,

Anonymous said...

Being a parent myself I can only imagine what you and your wife are going through. Please accept my heartfelt condolences.

Anonymous said...

Aditya’s Dad,

I am really saddened to read about this terrible news. I have heard of many ill-incidences related to air-travel not only with infants but with pregnant women as well. We are parent of a 5 month old baby. Our Doctor strictly prohibited flying an infant even for “short journey”, until he/she is at least 12 months old. It is always better to err on cautious side; hence we won’t be visiting India until she is at least 1-1/2-2 years old.

Now in regards to your fight,
You are taking right step by putting this incident on the web. However, you are not dealing with airlines/authorities in Canada/US or any first world country. You are dealing with India based airlines and airport authorities.
You can’t fight alone (even with petitions from thousand people) with system / beurocracy. You got to try old fashioned ways as well.

If I were you I would do following passionately until I get results? You can use your website as a platform for this. I am sure there are many readers who can help in some aspects of the following.

I) Send these details to every newspaper and TV stations in India and Canada/US as well. (some prints the news if you pay them some amount – { as a last resort you can use that} ). Certain TV programs are looking for (unfortunately) incidences like this. That could help.

II) I would get social-services (samaj-sevi) group in India involved. They can rattle the cage more effectively.

III) I would also get major political parties involved. You need to find links/contacts to get this moving. Unfortunately that’s how it works in India.

IV) I would also sue Jet airways and IGI. This would bind them legally to make statement as well as get involved in this case.

V) Write to PM/President if you can.

VI) Since you son was Canadian Citizen, he should have had rights that can be exercised, which would warrant Jet Airways to make a statement. Check on that angle with lawyers in Canada.

May be other folks can add more to this.

Again, my sincere sympathies for your loss.

TenderMangoLeaf said...

Dodo and Preeti who agrees with Dodo,
Easy to preach, isn't it? You two "fine human beings" chose to preach at this time of tragedy, even better.

It is not uncommon for babies to take flights, if it were a medical issue, the Airline Industry would prohibit such a travel you "know it alls". There is no such prohibition.

DODO, you say you are AGITATED, this is not the place for you to relieve your "AGITATION" Go break some bricks if you must! Your sorry does not cut it, and I repeat, this is not the time and place for your as you say "harsh comments" and preaching. If you are truly agitated and you care, go to travel forums and preach there.

Unknown said...

I am struck with grief

Gauri said...

Well I did not read the first post.I think what really happened was the change in cabin pressure during descent.Since you and your wife also felt the extreme pain in your ears.I believe that must have been the cause for chocking as well. Also infants that young have just begin to learn how to suck milk and gulp it down. The baby accidently sucked the milk into its wind pipe as the descent caused change in cabin pressure. Also the baby may be in a horizontal position which further adds to the milk getting sucked into the wind pipe. Did the baby cough or burp or make any sound at all before it stopped breathing?
I really think the JET airways shd have stopped unloading passengers and called for a doctor on board or any medical assistance.

Anonymous said...

My heartfelt Condolescence to you and your family. The incident made us cry thinking of the misfortune you and your wife underwent.

Today we have been provided with the itinerary to travel through the same route (Calgary-Toronto-Brussels-Delhi-Bangalore)and via same flight (9W 229) along with our just 6 week son,AKASH. Thanks to your BLOG that we happen to read and rejected the itinerary. Your work in the form of blog is not going in vain and its helping others. I pray GOD to give you your lost happiness.

Thank you once again from the bottom of my heart in cautioning parents like us by explicitly describing the bizarre incident.

From ANISH and SANJANA

Unknown said...

My heartfelt Condolescence to you and your family. The incident made us cry thinking of the misfortune you and your wife underwent.

Today we have been provided with the itinerary to travel through the same route (Calgary-Toronto-Brussels-Delhi-Bangalore)and via same flight (9W 229) along with our just 6 week son,AKASH. Thanks to your BLOG that we happen to read and rejected the itinerary. Your work in the form of blog is not going in vain and its helping others. I pray GOD to give you your lost happiness.

Thank you once again from the bottom of my heart in cautioning parents like us by explicitly describing the bizarre incident.

From ANISH and SANJANA

Unknown said...

My heartfelt Condolescence to you and your family. The incident made us cry thinking of the misfortune you and your wife underwent.

Today we have been provided with the itinerary to travel through the same route (Calgary-Toronto-Brussels-Delhi-Bangalore)and via same flight (9W 229) along with our just 6 week son,AKASH. Thanks to your BLOG that we happen to read and rejected the itinerary. Your work in the form of blog is not going in vain and its helping others. I pray GOD to give you your lost happiness.

Thank you once again from the bottom of my heart in cautioning parents like us by explicitly describing the bizarre incident.

From ANISH and SANJANA

Anonymous said...

I am very sorry to hear about your loss. Being a paret of a 4 month old daughter I can understand what you are going through. Please accet my condolences

I realize that its been quite long since that incident. Have you heard from Jet airways yet?

Anonymous said...

Hi

I found out about this incident just a few days ago when I was planning atrip to India with my 4 months old daughter. I haven't been able to rest since then. Just looking at Aditya's picture brings tears to my eyes. I am so sorry you both had to go through this. I can imagine how dificut it is for you. Hearing your story, I cancelled my plan for going to India. I don't know, but may it is not safe for newborn's to take that long journey
I will pray that you both find the strength to move on. May his sould rest in peace.
As for your questions from Jet airways, its been a long time now. Hope fully, you have got some explanation from them by now.

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