I was on Frontier Airlines flight 169 from Denver to San Jose this morning.  It was scheduled to be a nonstop departing Denver at 8:25 AM MDT and arriving in San Jose at 10:06 AM PDT.  We departed a few minutes late, but the real reason we didn’t arrive in San Jose until 12:06 PM PDT is that there was a medical emergency on board.  The flight crew asked for assistance from any doctors or EMTs on board, and we diverted to Las Vegas.

Once we reached the gate in Las Vegas, paramedics boarded the plane and evacuated the ill passenger.  The plane was refueled, and there was a slight delay for two oxygen bottles which had been used for the passenger to be replaced.  I didn’t check the time, but I don’t think we were on the ground in Las Vegas for much more than half an hour.

I was pleasantly surprised that none of the passengers made any fuss about the unplanned stop.  Everyone respected the instructions to remain seated while the paramedics boarded.  Before we left Las Vegas, the flight crew informed us that the paramedics said the passenger was in critical condition, so it was a very good thing that we landed in Las Vegas rather than proceeding directly to San Jose.  They also let us know that a passenger who was a former EMT had assisted the flight crew while en route to Las Vegas, and the passengers gave him a round of applause.

We weren’t told any details about the passenger or his illness, nor should we have been, but I can only hope that he or she has a full recovery.