Oh how awful!
That is terrible. I wonder if she would have preferred to continue on to the destination, if that was home, or where her family was. Because really, if he’s already dead, what can they do for him then? But if she’s very upset, then probably safer to get her on the ground as soon as possible.
When I worked for AA, there was an eye opening story. The captain died while landing the airplane. Fortunately the crew realized there was something wrong with him, and the quick thinking flight engineer grabbed him and held him back in the seat, so he wouldn’t slump over the controls. The copilot finished up the landing, uneventfully. That could have been a disaster.
^^was the engineer Kareem? 
I have been on two medical emergency flight situations, and I don’t fly very often. Both were quite interesting stories as long as you are not personally involved with the medical situation (person or family/friend). The first was returning from vacation, flight from Puerto Rico to Charlotte. Had to land on Grand Turk Island, then had to land in Miami for fuel, and finally in Charlotte. Couldn’t get other flights home until next day, and boss was extremely miffed that I came a half day late for work (and then the manufacturing plant had a bomb threat about an hour before end of business day, so we stood outside a while with that). I had a head cold that developed on the last day of my vacation, and it developed into a sinus infection. Had to miss another day or two with illness - MD excuse and meds to knock the infection out. By then the boss had cooled down.
A week after the Swiss Air crash in 1998, mom and I were flying Swiss Air from Chicago to Zurich. They delayed our flight a number of hours because the Swiss were checking over the plane head to toe, so to speak. We were supposed to leave maybe 3 or 4 pm, and I don’t think we left until maybe 9 pm. Mom and I were on business class. We had gotten served our lovely steak dinners and wine. Then there was a call for the medical bag. Then there was a call for a MD. Then I saw on the flight screen where we were turning (I do remember the time was a little after 10 pm), and the pilot announced we were going to land in Toronto. I told mom ‘eat up, they are going to take our trays’. It turns out the brother of one of the crash victims was having a heart attack. In Toronto, they took him off with a cloth gurney (so they could navigate the aisle) - I had an aisle seat, and they were in one or two sections in front of us. Family also got off the plane. When we landed in Switzerland I asked if they knew about the condition of the sick passenger, and the FA said he didn’t think he did very well. In Switzerland news we found out he died, and it dominated the Swiss news that week (brother was coming to Switzerland for his sister’s memorial service).
We of course were very thankful we were not on the ill-fated Swiss Air flight.
“was the engineer Kareem?”
No, and the captain wasn’t Peter Graves.
However, it is possible that he had eaten the fish 
I was on a plane where a passenger had a heart attack. The flight attendants requested a doctor on board…there was a doctor and two nurses. They moved him to the floor between the rows of seats, and that is where he stayed until the flight landed at our destination. The emergency first responders were right there to get on the plane.
The flight was jammed full. There was no place to move this passenger except the floor (with blankets and pillows).
Yes, I have been on flights where they requested a doctor and have had medical personnel volunteer. They also requested that we remain in our seats until they evacuated the ill person. We never found out much about the person who was having problems but I think they were OK. Believe they were whisked off to the hospital/ER with family members.
Well, this is a new one. Someone STOLE seat belts from a couple of seats on our plane. I hope we don’t have to change planes! The FAs were speculating - for souvenirs. No kidding!
^^^^ What the …?
Yup. Waiting for replacement belts.
…
All done! It took a minute to install new belts, now the wait for the paperwork begins… 
On my flight, they did request a doctor, and someone responded. A man who was seated near the couple told me that the doctor apparently couldn’t do anything to help the man, and after an initial examination devoted himself to consoling the wife.
Oh, Consolation, that’s terrible.
I was on a plane to Tokyo last year that was delayed because someone had a heart attack shortly after the boarding process.
Many years ago I was on a plane that was diverted to Philly due to a potential engine fire (firetrucks lined the runway) .On board was Earl Butz, secty of agriculture, and James Brown, the singer. Made for entertaining time in the waiting area for food and a new plane.
@jym626 - Was it Earl Butz, not Earl Brown?
Yes, I corrected it after I realized my typo. In fact, I think you and i cross-posted as my edit is timed exactly with your post. Thanks,
.
When my daughter was a toddler, we were on the same flight into Chicago as Richard Gephardt, the former House Majority Leader. I had caught a glimpse of him as we were boarding. Then D needed to use the bathroom, and it took a few minutes. When we came out, Gephardt was standing right there, waiting! I said hi. As we approached O’Hare, the pilot came on and said it was so windy they weren’t allowing anyone to land. It was kind of scary how turbulent it was. I thought, “Well, we’ll make international headlines if a plane with Gephardt goes down!” After a while, the pilot announced that we would be the FIRST plane allowed to land. That made me nervous, too! But it all worked out. My main memory of Gephardt was what an incredibly nice suit he was wearing!
I was on a flight to Anchorage sitting next to a ER MD. He told me he responded a few times to airplane requests for a MD, but they resulted in a lot of paperwork and headaches, so he was not eager to respond - I guess he waited for someone else to respond.
I’ve never been put to the test. But I’ve had friends in the profession who say that when these events occur, they look around, hoping someone will step up, but when no one does, they mutter “crap!” under their breath, and then go do what they are trained to do.
Let’s hope there’s at least ONE primary care doc on board.
The highest paying ROAD docs are generally useless in these cases.