Second passenger dies aboard Kenya Airways New York flight

Kenya Airways has confirmed that a passenger aboard one of its flights to New York from Nairobi has passed away, becoming the second such incident to be reported in a span of nine days.

In a statement Friday, the carrier, popularly known as KQ, said that the unnamed passenger passed away on September 2, 2022 at around 6.30am.

"A passenger was found to be unresponsive," KQ said.

"Upon further medical examination, personnel confirmed that the passenger had passed away. The flight had departed Nairobi per schedule on Thursday September 1 at 11.55pm."

The incident happened aboard flight KQ002.

“We convey our deepest condolences to the family and friends of the deceased and sincerely apologise to our other guests for the inconvenience,” the carrier added.

Second incident

Last month, KQ said another passenger had died aboard one of its flights from New York to Nairobi. He was later identified as Peterson Njuguna Mwangi, 66, a dual citizen of the US and Kenya.

According to the airline, the passenger developed breathing difficulties seven hours after the plane had taken off from New York before he died. A family spokesman said he had a history of diabetes.

The plane, which was to land at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) at 10.30am on Monday August 22, was delayed due to the incident and consequent rerouting to Morocco for urgent medical assistance. It later touched down in Nairobi a few minutes past 7pm the same day, officials said.

Mr Mwangi's family was reportedly informed of the incident and was at the airport to collect his body.

KQ said that their officials had tried to administer first aid but the situation worsened, forcing the pilots to make an emergency landing in Casablanca, Morocco.

The incident happened on Monday August 22 aboard flight KQ003.