A male passenger died after falling ill on board the Jet2 flight to Liverpool (Picture: Nicolas Economou/NurPhoto via Getty)
A passenger died on board a flight from Bulgaria to Liverpool after falling ill, forcing the plane to make an emergency diversion.
The Jet2 flight left Burgas, Bulgaria at just after 1pm local time on September 16.
Around two hours into the flight as the Boeing 737 was cruising at about 23,000 ft, the crew declared an emergency due to a medical incident involving a man on board.
The aircraft diverted to Cologne, Germany after sending squawk code 7700 to the air traffic control – meaning a general emergency which gives the plane priority.
Flight radar map showing the route of the Jet2 flight when it was diverted to Cologne (Picture: AirNav)
It made a rapid descent before parking in a remote area of the airport where it was met by a medical team, AirLive reports.
The man on board reportedly suffered a cardiac arrest, and tragically died despite the best efforts of passengers and crew, according to the outlet.
A spokesperson for Jet2 confirmed the flight from Bourgas to Liverpool John Lennon airport diverted to Cologne on Monday ‘due to a customer requiring medical assistance.’
They told Metro.co.uk: ‘Regrettably, we can confirm that the customer sadly passed away.
‘We would like to extend our heartfelt condolences to the customer’s family and friends at this very difficult time.’
What is a squawk code?
Planes and air traffic control use different codes to communicate with each other.
Squawk codes range from identifying each plane to specific codes about emergencies.
The squawk 7700 is used for general emergency, the Flightradar24 explained.
The pilot might speak with the air traffic control tower first before sending the 7700 so that they can get priority over other planes.
Squawking 7700 also alerts all nearby ATC towers about the situation with the flight, Flightradar24 said.
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