Apologies for a morbid topic

[spiffytoo]

Apologies for a morbid topic, but we are now dealing with a death in my family that happened under unusual circumstances. My cousin was killed in a car accident while he and his wife were vacationing in the Dominican Republic. The wife survived. As my dad put it, she flew home yesterday "in a wheelchair, with two sets of luggage". :sigh:

My cousin's body, alas, is still in the Dominican Republic, and arrangements are currently being made to get him back home. Now that I think about it, I've flown maybe 50 times in my life, and I can't say I've ever seen the baggage handlers loading a coffin into the hold of a passenger plane. Is this done, or would it have to be a charter flight or cargo flight? Somehow my mind rebels at the idea of a coffin being considered "cargo".

My apologies if you find this question upsetting - it would be helpful for me right now to know what is done in situations like this.

[Barb-SAN]

Sorry to hear about your cousin's unfortunate accident.

Having traveled overseas myself...I too am curious to know the answer. It seems like it could be complicated legally (if there were issues of "fault" in the accident).

What sort of arrangements ARE you making, Spiffytoo? Are you having to pay for a private plane to bring the body back to the U.S.?

I did a Google search, and did come up with SWA's policy ("no" to transporting bodies, "yes" to cremated remains). So now I'm wondering even within the U.S. how someone's body is sent across country if they wished to be buried somewhere other than where they died.

http://www.southwest.com/travel_center/human_remains.html

The Google search also turned up some articles about controversy surrounding U.S. servicemen killed in action in Iraq, and having their bodies shipped back to the U.S. as freight on commercial aircraft.

Even though it's sort of a morbid topic, I think it is reassuring to know what the answer is before we are confronted with the situation.

Here's the link to information from TSA too: http://www.tsa.gov/travelers/airtravel/specialneeds/editorial_1296.shtm

[WillFlyToDisney]

Spiffys - so sorry for your loss. :grouphug:

Kelley

[Barb-SAN]

Well, I was out for a walk this evening, and saw one of my neighbors watering his lawn, and remembered he's a first officer for Delta (flies 757's and 767's), so asked him the question about transporting the deceased. He said it's all very routine, and is all arranged by the mortuary after the body is embalmed. There's a standard fee (he said he thought around $300 or so) to the airlines to transport the body, and it does go in the cargo hold. He said Delta and American are the two main U.S. carriers who fly to the Domincan Republic (he flies that route himself). He also said it's fairly often that they need to transport bodies from Florida to the Northern states (elderly retirees who die in Florida, but wanted to be buried up north).

He said that the 737's don't have as much cargo space as the 757's and 767's, so that is most likely why Southwest doesn't offer that service (since they only fly 737's).

So...hope that additional information is of some use.

Oh, I asked my pilot neighbor about the bodies of servicemen being flown back from Iraq. He said although the deceased are transported in the cargo area, there is a living person accompanying each body (though flying as a regular passenger, obviously).

[spiffyone]

It turned out that our cousin's wife had an insurance through her company called American Assist, or something like that (I looked up their website and they are listed as a "global emergency services" provider). American Assist made the arrangements and covered at least some of the cost to bring him home, as I understand it.

You know, my university has a lot of wierd little insurances tacked on that I probably said "yes" to when I was signing up at Human Resources, but I don't think it would have even occurred to me to ask about this...

[Barb-SAN]

This is information for travelers from the U.S. Dept. of State website:

Medical Insurance[/URL]
Many foreign doctors and hospitals require payment in cash prior to providing service and that a medical evacuation to the United States may cost well in excess of $50,000. You should consult with your medical insurance company prior to traveling abroad to confirm whether your policy applies overseas and if it will cover emergency expenses such as a medical evacuation.
Also, when consulting with your insurer prior to your trip, please ascertain whether payment will be made to the overseas health care provider or if you will be reimbursed later for expenses that you incur.
Remember: U.S. Medicare and Medicaid programs do not provide payment for medical services outside the United States. So, check with your travel agent and/or a private insurance company to see if they offer insurance plans that will cover health care expenses incurred overseas, including emergency services such as medical evacuations.
Additional information on medical emergencies abroad, including overseas insurance programs, is provided in the Department of State’s Bureau of Consular Affairs brochure, Medical Information for Americans Traveling Abroad, available via the Bureau of Consular Affairs home page [URL="http://travel.state.gov/"]http://travel.state.gov (http://www.takingflight.us/forums/).

[tusphotog]

My condolences for your loss, Spiffy.

The military used to transport deceased service members via airlines. That policy has now been changed (I'm not sure when). They now go via freight flights, either commercial (Kallita Air, I believe is one of them), or by the C-17 cargo flights. We've had several come this way into TUS. There's a great photo of the old way they transported bodies from Todd Heisler's 2006 pulitzer winning photo story. http://www.pulitzer.org/year/2006/feature-photography/works/heisler03.html

As other have said, airlines do transport coffins fairly regularly. The old show Family Plots on A&E (aired before Airline), showed them dropping bodies off quite a bit. Airlines don't load bags, pets or cargo, into that hold.

[Barb-SAN]

The military used to transport deceased service members via airlines. That policy has now been changed (I'm not sure when). They now go via freight flights, either commercial (Kallita Air, I believe is one of them), or by the C-17 cargo flights. We've had several come this way into TUS. There's a great photo of the old way they transported bodies from Todd Heisler's 2006 pulitzer winning photo story. http://www.pulitzer.org/year/2006/feature-photography/works/heisler03.html (http://www.pulitzer.org/year/2006/feature-photography/works/heisler03.html)


Tusphotog, Thanks for sharing that...there are some excellent, touching photos there. I can guess why policy was changed. I'm wondering if there is still a service person accompanying the bodies? Or is there no passenger seating at all on the C-17 cargo flights or commercial freight flights?

[tusphotog]

Tusphotog, Thanks for sharing that...there are some excellent, touching photos there. I can guess why policy was changed. I'm wondering if there is still a service person accompanying the bodies? Or is there no passenger seating at all on the C-17 cargo flights or commercial freight flights?

I'm not entirely sure if there is someone in the back accompanying the bodies. I would assume so. The last service member who died and was from TUS came back in a little tiny Dassault Falcon jet. I was off that day, so I can't tell you if there was someone inside with him or not.

As for passenger seating on the C-17, there's a lot. They run jumpseats down the sides and you're crammed in pretty tight. A guy I work with flew from DEN to Kennedy Space Center on a C-17 with a 20-ton Mars lander and a bunch of NASA folks. He said it was a very boring flight. No windows, cramped, uncomfortable seats. Sounds a lot like a certain airline I was just on.

All commercial cargo planes have seating inside. Depending on the size of the plane, it's relatively spacious. I've been inside on a FedEx MD-11 and they have a couple rows of first class seats in there. The Cargolux 747-400 I was on had the entire upper deck as first class. If you're in flight ops and have jumpseat privileges for a cargo airline, it's a GREAT way to travel. I had a friend who used to go on vacation in Hawaii every month. He'd catch a UPS DC-8 flight from ONT to HNL. The only catch was leaving at bizarre hours and you have to make the coffee and food for the pilots.

Just for the record, I'm not affiliated with any branch of the government, or the military.

[Barb-SAN]

Just for the record, I'm not affiliated with any branch of the government, or the military.

Thanks for all the "inside" info. Now, of course, we ARE curious to know with whom you ARE affiliated (but you don't have to tell). I'm assuming photographer by career, from your screen name. ;)

[tusphotog]

Thanks for all the "inside" info. Now, of course, we ARE curious to know with whom you ARE affiliated (but you don't have to tell). I'm assuming photographer by career, from your screen name. ;)

You could say that... ;)

As for all the info on freight planes, one of my clients a few years ago was a large (based in a very small EU country), international freight carrier. It was a blast. It was also pre-9/11. After 9/11 it became very tough to continue with airlines, so I went to journalism work, where I've been ever since. I still get to travel a lot, which I love (except in the summer).

[jesgooch]

Hi Spiffy's,

Just an FYI, I PM'd you about a resource for your cousin's wife...

Jessica

[Captain Hutch]

Hi SpiffyToo,

I am really sorry to hear about your loss.

I do not have any details to offer other than I have seen HR (Human Remains) loaded/unloaded into our cargo bins on two occasions. The caskets were placed inside sturdy aluminum (I believe) containers slightly larger than the casket itself and treated with respect as they were moved in and out of the cargo bay. On the one occasion I happened to see a USAF Thunderbird pilot in uniform standing in the passenger waiting area overlooking the cargo loading process for one of our flights scheduled to leave shortly. He was intently watching the cargo being loaded as I walked up to chat with him. As I struck up a conversation I saw what he was closely observing--a metal casket. Then he related that his father had just died and they were transporting him to his home town where he would be buried and he was going to fly on the same flight. I believe the aircraft was a 757, other than that I don't remember anything else.

On the other occasion the plane was smaller, a 737 or perhaps an airbus. I was watching the planes out on the ramp from our operations and I noticed a large contingent of military personnel in dress uniform gathered around the cargo bay. This was a soldier that had died and was going home, and was being accorded military honors as his casket was being unloaded for further transport. It was an emotional experience.

As far as I can tell from our manuals we do not have any special procedures from the flight deck other than to being informed that HR are aboard. And also, I do not know what the differences are in international operations. And the story of your cousin's wife return is sad, but I do believe that your cousin will be returned respectfully however way they do it.

Thanks for the courage to bring up a not-so-tasteful topic that will help a lot of other folks with the same question.

Captain Hutch