Wife blames Air China for death of husband

An Air China passenger has demanded the carrier take responsibility for the death of her 85-year-old husband, claiming management failures were contributing factors, theBeijing Timesreported on Sunday.

Wang Aihua said her husband, Zuo Changlu, was fine when the couple and their two children boarded the flight from Beijing to Yiwu, Zhejiang province, on July 8.

But Zuo began to feel unwell after the aircraft aborted a landing in Yiwu and headed to nearby Hangzhou, the report said.

He began to sweat and have seizures after touching down, symptoms brought on by the lack of air in the cabin, Wang was quoted as saying.

Crew members initially said the detour was caused by bad weather but later said it was due to mechanical failures at the Yiwu air traffic control tower. Angered by the inconsistent responses, passengers occupied the first-class section, where Zuo and his family were seated, to demand a refund, the report said.

Zuo’s condition continued to deteriorate and it took staff an hour to retrieve his checked luggage to get his medication. The plane’s oxygen equipment was unusable and by the time the medication was found, Zuo was already unconscious, it said.

He died before the ambulance arrived.

An Air China representative said on Saturday the delay was caused by problems at Yiwu airport. The report also quoted airline sources as saying Zuo had heart surgery before taking the flight but did not report his condition to the airline.

But Wang denied that Zuo had heart problems or surgery, saying that he only had a stomach stent implanted to help with eating.

(SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST)