The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has announced plans for its Federal Air Surgeon’s office to discuss with the medical director and staff of American Airlines the conflicting details surrounding the in-flight death of a passenger last Friday. The passenger, Carine Desir, 44, was traveling with a cousin, Antonio Oliver, from Port-au-Prince, Haiti, to New York City when she began having trouble breathing and asked for water. Desir then asked for oxygen to help her breathe and it is the events that happened from this point that are in dispute.

Desir’s cousin, Oliver, says the flight attendant twice refused to bring oxygen until Desir began crying, “Please don’t let me die . . . I can’t breathe.” Oliver himself began shouting for help from the other passengers on the plane.

According to Oliver, at this time an oxygen tank arrived but it was empty, as was a second tank. He claims the defibrillator that was eventually used proved faulty and did not save his cousin’s life. Another passenger, a doctor, pronounced Desir’s death during the flight.

Upon arrival at John F. Kennedy airport, New York City medical examiners say she died of natural causes and had heart disease.

According to American Airlines, Desir’s flight attendant went to get the chief flight attendant the first time Desir asked for oxygen. Oxygen was administered by both a flight attendant and a doctor who tried for about 45 minutes to save Desir. Efforts to save her included the proper use of the onboard defibrillator.

Defibrillators work only in the presence of an irregular heartbeat. In the event of a massive heart attack, where the heart stops beating entirely, there is no irregular heartbeat to detect and a defibrillator will not emit a shock.

According to FAA rules, all planes must have at least two oxygen tanks and a defibrillator on every flight. It is the airline’s responsibility to make sure the tanks are full and the equipment is functional. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has announced plans for its Federal Air Surgeon’s office to discuss with the medical director and staff of American Airlines the conflicting details surrounding the in-flight death of a passenger last Friday.