Plane Diverts After Passenger Dies Aboard Flight to Australia

Details are emerging of a sad situation from over the weekend.

A flight from Vancouver to Australia was forced to divert to Hawaii on Saturday after a passenger died on board.

Christopher Woodgate, 38, was pronounced dead when the flight landed in Honolulu, ABC News reported. An autopsy to determine the cause of death will be conducted.

The Air Canada flight was headed to Brisbane, Air Canada spokesman Peter Fitzpatrick told ABC.

“Out of respect for the privacy of our customers, Air Canada cannot confirm the details about the medical emergency,” he said in an email.

The flight, with 257 passengers and 13 crew members aboard, was forced to remain in Hawaii overnight, Fitzpatrick said. The passengers left Honolulu Sunday on a different flight.

Woodgate had been sick prior to the flight, Jessica Lani Rich of the Visitor Aloha Society of Hawaii, a nonprofit that assists visitors in distress, told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser.

The man was traveling with five children, his wife and another family member, Rich said.