Medical emergency - Chicago to Madrid
 

Flying this route shortly and was just wondering in the event of a medical emergency what would the pilot options be in terms of setting the plane down. Assume once the aircraft left North America enroute to Madrid there might be such an option. Read on-line someone saying: There is ALWAYS an airport nearby and was curious if that were really true. Thought perhaps there might be a pilot or other knowledgeable person out there with an answer Many thanks.

They usually fly up along the eastern coast "area" towards Newfoundland, etc n what on paper looks like a large curve then down over England into Spain.

I am sure you must be able to find a flight plan/route online with a more exact description than my memory.

That is about right---Newfoundland and Ireland are the route.

If you think there is some realistic risk of a medical emergency you should NOT get on a plane. (Yes, there is always an airport not TOO far away - but that can be 2 hours - versus 6 or 7).

If there is no realistic risk - I do;t get the question.

I agree with nytraveler.

Do you have an urgent need to get to Madrid and also have a significant health problem?

bad idea to rely on an airport being near on that route or any route

Between Gander, Newfoundland, and Shannon, Ireland, you are over the open Atlantic for 3+ hours. The alternate airport, if you can't reach one of these, would normally be the Azores (not Iceland, as you might expect) but it wouldn't be a lot shorter.

Could you die of a heart attack before you could get to medical care? Yes. Ditto stroke. Would they divert the plane for appendicitis or a kidney stone? Not very likely at all.

What other kind of medical emergency did you have in mind? Hemorragic bleeding? Drug overdoes or allergic reaction? Anaphylactic shock from peanuts in the next seat? These are all things that might kill you before you could get to the hospital even in Chicago, much less from an airplane.

Thanks to all of you for your thoughtful/helful replies.

Richarda

On a globe, the shortest distance between two points is not what is normally considered a "straight line", instead it is called a "great circle route". If you look at a flat map of the world, it might seem that you go almost straight from say NY to London, where in actuality you are going in a curved line. This is because of the spherical nature of a planet. If you take an orange and cut it in half, you can see how this works. Draw a line between two points and it will almost always be longer than if you follow the curve of the orange. The exception is doing the equator and doing any direct north/south run.

Now, planes do not always fly the true great circle, this is due to things like jet stream location, weather problems and geo-political problems AND the potential need to emergency land. However, the flight path will always be fairly close to a great circle route. Shorter route, less flight time, less fuel.

Sailors have been doing this for years.

dave