Woman Dies During Flight from Chicago to Mexico After Experiencing Midair Medical Emergency
The pilot made an emergency landing in Monterrey shortly after crossing into Mexican airspace
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NEED TO KNOW
- A 72-year-old passenger died on a Volaris flight from Chicago to Mexico on Saturday, May 9
- The flight was scheduled to land at General Francisco Mujica International Airport in the state of Michoacán, but made an emergency landing in Monterrey
- The passenger, who was traveling with her husband, had been living with kidney failure and diabetes for about 12 years
A 72-year-old passenger died on a flight from Chicago to Mexico over the weekend, according to reports.
Volaris flight 7771 left Chicago Midway International Airport at 3:13 p.m. local time on Saturday, May 9, according to FlightRadar, and was scheduled to land at General Francisco Mujica International Airport in the Mexican state of Michoacán.
The airline told ABC7 that the pilot had to make an emergency landing at Monterrey International Airport after the passenger, named as identified as María Yolando Guerrero Medina, experienced a medical emergency.
Credit: Alfredo Lopez/LatinContent via Getty
Per Spanish-language network Univision and Monterrey-based newspaper El Norte, the passenger, who was traveling with her husband, was taken ill as the plane was entering Mexican airspace.
Other passengers alerted the crew to her condition, and the captain asked authorities for authorization to make an unscheduled landing, Univision reported.
The plane landed at 5:24 p.m. local time, per FlightAware, and medical and security staff were waiting on the runway. However, Guerrero Medina was pronounced dead shortly after landing, per ABC7.
The plane was replaced with another aircraft to allow the other passengers to reach their destination, the outlet reported.
According to Univision, Guerrero Medina was from the city of Morelia in Michoacán and had been living with kidney failure and diabetes for about 12 years.
PEOPLE reached out to Volaris and Monterrey International Airport for comment, but did not immediately hear back.
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According to El Norte, the incident was the first of two emergency landings at the airport over the weekend.
On Sunday, May 10, a pilot flying a United Airlines plane heading to Houston from Los Cabos in Baja California Sur performed circling maneuvers minutes after takeoff before requesting authorization to land in Monterrey.
Per the Houston Chronicle, the emergency landing was due to a mechanical issue.