A 40-year-old Chicago woman reportedly fainted twice and suddenly died just minutes after she got off a plane from New York City to Dubai in the United Arab Emirates.
Brandi Hodges, 40, was traveling with her sister, and was said to be in good health when she passed away, according to her cousin, ABC13 reported.
“My sister called me at approximately 1:30 this morning,” Gloria Ray-Banks, the cousin, told the news outlet.
WATCH: American passenger dies after family says she fell ill during flight to Dubai: The family of Brandi Hodges, 40, says she complained about feeling ill and being short of breath minutes before landing. https://t.co/5keXrs1eHa #GMA pic.twitter.com/9w8OuK9OKk
— Patrick (@cahulaan) June 8, 2019
Ray-Banks recalled that Hodges had complained of not feeling well as she and her sister departed the plane.
“So they sat down, and Brandi fainted,” Banks told the ABC affiliate station. “So then, my sister went and got one of the flight attendants.”
After she woke, Hodges was given ice and oxygen, but she again fainted. Paramedics then took her into an ambulance, but her sister apparently never saw it leave the airport, Ray-Banks said.
Healthy Chicago woman faints twice and mysteriously dies minutes after flight from NYC to Dubai https://t.co/xhSgw7AR6l
— Daily Mail US (@DailyMail) June 9, 2019
“After so many minutes and they didn’t pull off, my sister looked back to see why they had not left. Brandi wasn’t back there,” she said.
Hodges was taken into the airport’s medical room, and there, they tried to resuscitate her, but they were not successful.
Her cousin said it will cost some $6,000 to get Hodges’ body back to the United States. She said that due to holidays in Dubai, many businesses aren’t open, meaning that her body won’t be returned to the country until later in the week, it was reported.
Hodges and her sister had flown on an Emirates airliner. The flight took about 13 hours.
Plane Crashes in New York
Over the weekend, a pilot and passenger were killed in a small plane crash along Long Island’s North Fork, but the dog onboard survived, according to news reports.
Officials in the Town of Southold responded to the crash site on June 8. Federal officials said the type of plane involved in the crash was a Beechcraft A36 Bonanza, according to the Aviation Safety Network.
Southold Supervisor Scott Russell told Long Island News 12 that the two on board died. According to NBC New York, police identified the two people on board as Robert Mark, and his girlfriend Susan Quagliano, who are both from Oakdale.
A farmer in the area found the dog, the report said.
#BREAKING Update: 2 killed in plane crash on Long Island’s North Fork https://t.co/B2ijbIXoSL
— Eyewitness News (@ABC7NY) June 8, 2019
Two killed in Long Island plane crash, but dog on board survives https://t.co/Ydhkg8KeG2
— The Daily Beast (@thedailybeast) June 8, 2019
“Firefighters, police officers and rescue personnel arrived at the scene within minutes and put out the ensuing fire,” Harbes Farm said in a statement, reported Newsday.
“This is a sad tragedy, and our thoughts and prayers go out to the family of the passengers of the aircraft,” the statement said.
