Hawaiian Airlines flight 50 departed Daniel K. Inouye International Airport Thursday night with 253 passengers for a scheduled nonstop flight to New York, JFK airport. One of the flight attendant working this flight was 60-year-old Emile Griffith a resident of Pahoa, on the Island of Hawaii. He worked for the airline for more than 30 years.
Midway over the Pacific Ocean, his colleagues, a doctor and a paramedic among passengers performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation “for hours” and without success.
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The Hawaiian Airlines Captain declared an emergency and landed the aircraft in San Francisco, where the plane had to wait on the runway for more than 2 hours waiting for the coroner to arrive.
Hawaiian Airlines released this statement:
“We are deeply saddened by the loss of Emile Griffith, a member of our flight attendant ‘ohana for over 31 years who passed away while working on our flight between Honolulu and New York last night. We are forever grateful for Emile’s colleagues and good Samaritans on board who stayed by his side and provided extensive medical help. Emile both loved and treasured his job at Hawaiian and always shared that with our guests. Our hearts are with Emile’s family, friends and all those fortunate to have known him. Hawaiian Airlines has made counseling available for his fellow employees.”
