A heavenly flight!

When the plane took off from San Francisco International airport on December 25th, 2025, she had no idea that it wouldn’t just be her last journey on a plane across the globe, but the beginning of her final voyage to another world! 

About 10 hours into the flight and about two hours from landing at Istanbul airport, her heart stopped. Her daughter – a woman in her forties – in deep shock, called for help and the flight crew sprung in action. They laid her across three seats and a steward started CPR on her. There was a call on the plane’s intercom for any doctor traveling on the vessel to attend to the medical emergency. A lady walked towards the scene and offered to help, claiming to be a doctor. As it became clear that the CPR may not be helping, four members of the staff lifted the patient’s motionless body to the back of the aircraft and laid her on the floor in the aft kitchen area. 

We, along with other passengers, watched in horror, as the feeling of helplessness started to reflect on the faces of everyone. We saw this seen unfold from less than 15 feet away, sitting across the left side of the fuselage while the distressed passenger was on the right side, a row behind our seats. 

Staff continued their valiant effort to save the soul, and called for a defibrillator. A crew came running from the front through the aisle with a defibrillator in his hands. I could see my feelings imprinted on the faces of many of the passengers – a complex combination of shock, concern, disbelieve, and hope.

While many passengers continued to turn their head towards the back in the hope of seeing a sign of relief on any of the staff members, an eery sense of calm started spreading across the aircraft as staff carrying various medical support equipment started emerging from the back wearing a profound sense of sadness on their faces. Each one of them going to the toilet and washing their hands, before continuing their duties. Soon after, the lady doctor also emerged telling the story behind her mask, through her eyes without saying a word. 

The daughter of the deceased came back to her seat, held her head in her hands and started crying uncontrollably, while a female hijabi passenger started consoling her. I observed the therapeutic effect of the presence of another caring human being in the time of grief – be it just a stranger – right there as she started gaining composure and thinking about the next steps. 

To prepare for the landing, crew prepared the row and carried the dead body to lay across three seats, while strapping it with the seat belts. 

One middle aged man, sitting in the aisle seat right across the seats where this event had unfolded, started offering prayers while sitting in his seat, as if pleading with God on behalf of the deceased and echoing the universal truth “We belong to Him and to Him we return”! 

A soul had left from the troposphere to the heavens, reaffirming the fragility of our mortal existence, and conveying a profound message that when it’s our time, regardless of who we are and what we do, we will travel great lengths to be at the exact spot from where our soul will commence the next journey, a journey unconstrained by the realities of this universe!