A Manchester-bound flight from Gran Canaria was forced to make an emergency landing in Santiago, Northern Spain, after a passenger suffered a life-threatening medical emergency. The actions of Dr. Andrew Mockridge, who was onboard, were critical in stabilising the passenger until the plane could safely land.

Dr. Mockridge, a volunteer EMICS doctor and soon-to-be consultant in Anesthesia and Intensive Care Medicine (October 2024), with a specialisation in pre-hospital care, was returning from a family holiday when he noticed a commotion a few rows ahead. Mary, a type 1 diabetic, had lost consciousness and was in a critical condition. “She was unconscious and had no pulse,” Dr. Mockridge said, indicating signs of a cardiac arrest.

Earlier that day, Mary had been carefully managing her blood sugar levels, which, though low, were within range. Despite eating a chocolate biscuit and glucose tablets at the airport, her blood sugar remained stubbornly low. “It was a very windy, shaky takeoff, but that was just a by the by,” Mary recalled. “About an hour into the flight, I checked my sugars again—still low, but not excessively low, and I had no symptoms.”

As the in-flight trolley approached, Mary planned to have a cup of tea with sugar to raise her levels. “That trolley never got to me, and I don’t know what happened after that,” she said. Shortly after, she became unconscious and blocked her airway with vomit.

With limited medical supplies on board, Dr. Mockridge had to rely on basic life support techniques. He opened Mary’s airway and elevated her legs, which helped her start breathing again. However, her airway remained critically compromised and her jaw started to lock due to seizures.

“We were only able to administer two and a half liters of oxygen, far below what is typically needed in such emergencies,” Dr. Mockridge explained. “Normally, we would use at least 15 liters of oxygen.”

Dr. Mockridge added, ” I was moments away from doing chest compressions. We didn’t know if she had a very low blood sugar. We didn’t know if she’d had a heart event or an issue with her brain, because she was having seizures. I was also struggling to keep her airways open, and she’s still blue at this point as well. So, your decisions are, you need to land the plane.”

With Mary’s condition worsening, Dr. Mockridge made the difficult decision to remove her insulin pump, suspecting that it might be contributing to her deteriorating state. He also placed an artificial airway through her nose and manually maintained her airway throughout the rest of the journey.

As the plane made an emergency descent into Santiago, Northern Spain, Dr. Mockridge said, “we landed unrestrained with me holding. her airway open, and fortunately, she started to regain some consciousness as we descended.”

Mary was transported to a local hospital, where she spent five days recovering, relying on Google Translate to communicate. Despite the language barriers, she was stabilised and eventually returned home.

Throughout her recovery, Dr. Mockridge remained in contact with Mary and her diabetic care team, providing ongoing support. He sent her a detailed medical report 48 hours after the incident, which Mary said significantly influenced the hospital’s approach to her treatment. “Once I handed that into the hospital, everything changed—they knew how to get me back on track. It was surreal.”

Reflecting on the experience, Dr. Mockridge shared the challenges of providing care with minimal resources: “I was left with barely anything, so many feet in the sky, with not a great deal of help and a crew that were panicking. That’s what made this so different from my usual EMICS work or hospital job. In a hospital, you have everything you need—equipment, colleagues, support. But on that plane, I had only my hands, my eyes, and my basic skills to rely on.”

The incident had an impact on Mary’s confidence. “I’m usually confident, and my diabetes is something I manage well. But I’ll admit, for a few weeks, this really knocked my confidence. And you think, if I’d been on a long-haul flight or at home alone when this happened, it could have been good night.”

Mary expressed her thanks for Dr. Mockridge, “He saved my life, and his aftercare has been incredible. I can’t wait to meet him and shake his hand—it doesn’t feel like enough, but I don’t know what else to do. If he hadn’t been on that plane, I probably wouldn’t be here.”

She added, “This experience makes you look at life a little bit differently. You realise there are an awful lot of good people out there, people who give up their time and rely on charitable donations to do it.”

The next emergency could happen to anyone, anywhere—even 35,000 feet in the air. Your support helps ensure that our volunteer doctors have the equipment, medicines, and training they need to save lives. Please donate to EMICS today, because next time, it could be you or someone you love who needs our help: https://emics.org.uk/donate.