Passenger Died Onboard International Flight. Now Their Body Is Missing

Earlier this month, the body of a passenger who died aboard an international flight from Istanbul to San Francisco went missing after the flight was diverted to Chicago.

On July 13, a passenger aboard a Turkish Airlines flight “suffered a severe medical emergency” while the plane was flying over Greenland. As the passenger’s condition deteriorated, the crew initially considered diverting to an airport in Iceland, Aviation A2Z reported. However, after the passenger died, they chose to continue to O’Hare International Airport in Chicago to enter U.S. airspace.

The body should have fallen under the jurisdiction of the Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office after the plane landed in Chicago, SFGATE reported. However, County Spokesperson Natalia Derevyanny told the outlet that no such case was reported to their office, and they have no record of the deceased passenger.

Ertugrul Gulsen, the Turkish Airlines station manager at San Francisco International Airport, confirmed the passenger’s remains were later transported on a separate flight to San Francisco. No additional details, including the passenger’s nationality, have been released, and the current whereabouts of the body remain unknown.

Gulsen confirmed the remaining passengers were rebooked on a separate flight that eventually arrived at SFO.