A British report alleges a Singapore Airlines crew refused to divert a flight from Singapore to London for a critically ill passenger. The Daily Mail , quoting unnamed sources, says BBC Radio journalist Max Pearson suffered a heart attack shortly after the flight took off from Singapore but the crew refused requests to land so he could get medical attention. The paper says a doctor onboard tended to Pearson for the 14-hour flight. Pearson was taken to hospital on arrival at Heathrow and underwent emergency surgery. He is now recovering at home but the sources say his heart has been permanently damaged. The airline has not commented.
Pearson, a well-known radio reporter in Britain, was returning from Japan where he had been covering the earthquake and tsunami. He declined comment to the Daily Mail. “I don’t want to talk about it yet. It’s a very delicate situation,” he told the newspaper. The sources say he is considering legal action against the airline.
