The flight from Dominican Republic was diverted to the Turks and Caicos Islands.
An American woman travelling on American Airlines Flight 2790 from Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, to Charlotte, North Carolina, tragically passed away after experiencing a sudden illness on the flight, according to The New York Post.
The 41-year-old passenger, identified by family members as an Indiana mother of two, became ill during the flight, prompting the crew to divert the plane to Providenciales International Airport in the Turks and Caicos Islands.
Despite the crew’s efforts to revive the woman and the prompt response of medical personnel upon landing, she was pronounced dead at the local hospital. The Royal Turks and Caicos Island Police Force confirmed the incident and stated that a post-mortem examination will be conducted to determine the cause of death, according to the news outlet.
“A commercial flight was diverted to the Turks and Caicos this evening after a female passenger fell ill mid-flight. At 6:12 pm, the Police Control Room received a call from the Air Traffic Control Tower requesting medical assistance for a 41-year-old female, who at the time was receiving cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR),” reads the Facebook post.
While the official identification of the dead is pending, a woman on Facebook also identified the passenger as her sister-in-law.
“We are in disbelief, and our hearts are broken,” Stephanie Quinn wrote in response to the Royal Turks and Caicos Island Police Force’s announcement.
Quinn described her sister-in-law as the only girl out of five siblings and the mother of two “beautiful children with big hearts and straight as.”
“She is still down there, so please take good care of her as she ventures home,” pleaded Quinn, who did not immediately respond to messages Friday.