Porscha Tynisha Brown collapsed on a Korean Air flight from Washington, D.C., to Seoul, clutching her chest and struggling to breathe, multiple reports indicate. She continued to gasp for air and soon lost consciousness and became nonresponsive, according to a complaint cited in those reports. Brown was pronounced dead in Japan after the pilot diverted the flight to Japan. The lawsuit alleges Korean Air flight personnel never plugged the oxygen mask into the oxygen tank, so Brown never received supplemental oxygen from it.
Cabin crew responded with an oxygen mask placed over Brown's nose and mouth, multiple reports say. Passengers rushed to assist while flight attendants alternated between panicking, observing, and taking notes, the complaint states. Korean Air flight personnel never attempted to take charge of the situation, provide instructions to volunteering passengers, or render aid to Brown, according to the complaint.
Brown was a civilian employee for the U.S. Department of Defense, multiple reports indicate. She boarded Korean Air flight 94 on March 29, 2024, from Washington Dulles International Airport to Incheon International Airport in Seoul, traveling to Seoul on vacation with three friends, the complaint says. A lawsuit was filed on March 27, 2024, in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia. Brown was a Maryland native with a master's degree and plans to pursue a doctorate, and she worked at Fort Belvoir, a U.S. Army installation in Virginia, as a civilian DoD employee and workplace safety specialist, according to the complaint. She received an award of excellence from her garrison commander four days before leaving for Korea, the complaint adds.
Korean Air did not respond to a request for comment, multiple reports say. The specific medical cause of Brown's collapse and death remains unknown, as do the exact policies and procedures Korean Air has for responding to passenger medical emergencies.