Transporting the Deceased

[User546]

A fellow pilot friend and I got into a conversation last night about the legalities of transporting the deceased. The conversation being brought up because one of the local funeral home owners use to haul bodies between funeral homes in his Cherokee Six some years ago.

Anyone here ever experienced anything like that, or know of any companies that provide that type of service? I know some airlines provide that service, but I was thinking more along the lines of private companies.

Are there strict health regulations, rules, permits, or qualifications that you would need to do that (both aircraft and pilot). Stuff of that nature.

Thanks!

 

[Lucky]

Well I'm sure it would have to be cleared through the TSA and the department of homeland Security seeing as the cadaviers would not be able to pass through screening under there own power or answer any of the TSA's questioning and therefore they could be there for terrorist purposes and pose a huge security threat!

 

[NoahWerka]

Used to work for Beech East in Teterboro(long time ago). Had a funeral home that regularly rented a Bonanza(one of the owners was a pilot) and a pilot, or chartered a plane to go get bodies. If the bodies were fairly fresh, they would make some strange noises due to the pressure difference at altitude. No big deal as long as there was no tap on the shoulder from the back of the plane.

 

[350DRIVER]

If you are transporting HR (human remains) then some sort of approved cardboard packaging must be used as well as the appropriate paperwork which is usually done through the cargo department where the body is accepted and signed for at many airlines. I am unsure how one would go about transporting a body in the smaller equipment but it is done frequently by the smaller funeral homes to get a body from one point to another. I have always wondered about the effects of the fluid being injected into the body prior to it being shipped, went to a viewing a few years back and you could surely tell this person did not really resemble the same person. One pilot had mentioned that due to the effects of pressurization, high altitude, and temperatures that it is better to not prepare the body until it get's to the receiving funeral home?. Not sure if it was just a botched job by the funeral director or not... Any funeral directors on this board that can further explain this??. I am somewhat sure that one or two funeral directors are regulars on this board.


3 5 0

 

[beernuts]

just remember as part of the flight plan to list how many "souls and bodies" are on board. no point searching for those that boarded dead (and I am not talking about the high speed line with a 5 am takeoff)

 

[avbug]

I've transported live folks, organs, body parts, and the occasional deceased by air, often in small airplanes ranging from Cessna 210's to Navajos, to Learjets.

The intact bodies have always been transported in body bags, no rigid containers, no cardboard.

Legalities? Load and go. Transporting the deceased is not illegal.

Incidentally, the dead are cargo, not passengers. A small, but important distinction.

 

[Diesel]

When I was younger and somewhat more retarted the boss called me up for a transfer.

Had to head to a gravel stip and pick up the body. Stopped by our town grave digger and picked up a back board and a neck brace (to keep the neck from flopping around)

So I land at the dirt strip and pick up the body. Two guys show up in a station wagon and tell me to bring the back board and neck brace. I open the doors of the 206 and we load the body up. he's naked as a jaybird and we've got a sheet on him. His feet are between my seat and the right seat sticking up.

My boss was very enterprising so he wanted me to do a pickup at the end of the trip. So i had a couple of chairs I had to strap down to the man's body. (he said to strap down at the legs so it doesn't leave weird dents in the guys body)

I head on down to nyc and it's like 105 f and humid. The way NY can be in the summer.

ATC called me half way down to ask me if it was true what it said on my flightplan. I said yeah. 1 soul 1 body on board. He said cleared direct. I bet you want to be there now.

So i get land at this airport on a sunday afternoon with all the families out watching the planes and I see this lone guy on the bench. So i go and ask the guy if he's expecting a delivery. He says yup. Let's go unload it.

I'm like whoah. It took two of you to load the body and there is only one of you. Where is the other guy? He says your it.

Man oh man. So we are bending and twisting this body out of the plane and it's hot and i'm sweating and my hands are sinking into this guys back.

The sheet gets caught on the door and comes off. No crap a naked dead guy and two guys unloading a plane in the middle of a sunday. That must have looked great.

So after loading the body in the body bag the guy drove off. I went over to HPN and picked up the pax. Used a whole body of lysol hoping to clean up the weird smell coming from the back.

 

[Ted Striker]

When I was younger and somewhat more retarted the boss called me up for a transfer.

Had to head to a gravel stip and pick up the body. Stopped by our town grave digger and picked up a back board and a neck brace (to keep the neck from flopping around)

So I land at the dirt strip and pick up the body. Two guys show up in a station wagon and tell me to bring the back board and neck brace. I open the doors of the 206 and we load the body up. he's naked as a jaybird and we've got a sheet on him. His feet are between my seat and the right seat sticking up.

My boss was very enterprising so he wanted me to do a pickup at the end of the trip. So i had a couple of chairs I had to strap down to the man's body. (he said to strap down at the legs so it doesn't leave weird dents in the guys body)

I head on down to nyc and it's like 105 f and humid. The way NY can be in the summer.

ATC called me half way down to ask me if it was true what it said on my flightplan. I said yeah. 1 soul 1 body on board. He said cleared direct. I bet you want to be there now.

So i get land at this airport on a sunday afternoon with all the families out watching the planes and I see this lone guy on the bench. So i go and ask the guy if he's expecting a delivery. He says yup. Let's go unload it.

I'm like whoah. It took two of you to load the body and there is only one of you. Where is the other guy? He says your it.

Man oh man. So we are bending and twisting this body out of the plane and it's hot and i'm sweating and my hands are sinking into this guys back.

The sheet gets caught on the door and comes off. No crap a naked dead guy and two guys unloading a plane in the middle of a sunday. That must have looked great.

So after loading the body in the body bag the guy drove off. I went over to HPN and picked up the pax. Used a whole body of lysol hoping to clean up the weird smell coming from the back.

Awesome.

 

[88_MALIBU]

OMG that story made my night...

 

[jetbluedog]

Body Experience

Back in '94 I was flying for a 135 outfit in the Midwest. Got a call at 11pm to fly a body from a morgue in Omaha, NE to DSM, IA in a Piper Navajo. Grabbed some Taco Bell on the way to the airport. Ate in the car on the way, didn't think much about it. Quick pre-flight, the hurse showed-up with a body bag. 3 guys loaded the body in the back, signed some paperwork, and I blasted off headed east to DSM. About 30 mins into the flight, 9000 feet, clear smooth.....all-hell broke loose within my inner bowels. I grimmaced. Shifted from left buttcheek, to right buttcheek, and back and forth, but no-luck. I knew few FBO's in po-dunk Iowa would have facilities open at 1a.m. I put my trusty faith in the autopilot, crawled in back. No one at the controls! Unzipped the body bag. Squatted over the body, a foot on either side of the dead body. Blasted my load.....man that never felt so good. Zipped up the body bag and crawled back up front.
In DSM, I've never heard a bunch of funeral home directors complaint about a body's smell while unloading in all my life. I stayed in the plane because I was laughing my-ass-off so hard.
Blasted off and returned to home base in Omaha. Never told anyone til' today!