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Mere minutes have allegedly caused widespread upset for a grieving family in Tennessee, after they claim that 
Delta Air Lines left their father’s body unrefrigerated overnight due to a missed connection at 
Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL). It is claimed, as reported by View From The Wing, that the deceased body missed the collection window by mere minutes after a too-short connection due to a delay at the Delta hub.
By the morning, it is alleged that the body had decomposed too much to permit a final viewing for the family. The incident involved Ed Morgan, who was being transported from Florida to Tennessee, through Atlanta. The incident occurred through an arrangement with Eagle Wings Air, who coordinate transportation of human remains and requires a minimum of two-hour layovers.
Flight Delays Cause Human Remains To Remain Unrefrigerated
According to the report, Mr Morgan’s body was booked to travel on June 15 from West Palm Beach (DJT) through Atlanta (ATL) to Memphis International Airport (MEM). Requirements allegedly claimed that there was a two-hour transfer window for human remains in Atlanta, and due to the late arrival from the Atlanta-bound flight, landing at 2:57 PM, for a 4:26 PM connecting flight. Despite the connecting flight being delayed until 4:55 PM, this was still too short a delay to transit the body, resulting in Morgan being rebooked onto a later flight.
With a total transit time of just one hour and 58 minutes, this was below the alleged two-hour transit window (including the second flight delay) that is required for flight connections with human remains, forcing Morgan’s body to be placed on a later flight. This saw the body reach Memphis after 8:00 PM that evening, after cargo pickup had closed at 7:00 PM.
The family now alleges that the body had remained unrefrigerated overnight, resulting in body decomposition that forced the cancellation of a final viewing. According to the report, Morgan’s body had not been embalmed due to spiritual reasons.
Delta Claims That The Body Was Refrigerated
In the report by View From The Wing, the Memphis Delta station claimed that the cooler was working and available; however, the facility did not permit overnight holding of human remains.
This has raised questions about the process for body collections. With the original itinerary, the Memphis arrival would have been at 4:49 PM, which would have allowed the family more than two hours to collect Morgan’s body by 6:49 PM. Moving Morgan’s body to the later flight forced the remains to arrive after 8:00 PM, which was beyond the closing time of the cargo facility.
There is conflicting information on what occurred when the body arrived, with Delta suggesting that there was a chiller on site; however, Action News 5 claims that the body was not refrigerated overnight, and by the time the funeral director came to assess the body, Mr Morgan’s remains had decomposed beyond what would be acceptable for a final family viewing.
Refund Offered To The Morgan Family
Eagle Wings Air has since refunded the Morgan family for the incident and apologized for it. Morgan was a big fan of drag racing, and despite being unable to have a final viewing, a final trip around a drag strip was possible before he was finally laid to rest next to his wife.
Morgan was not embalmed due to spiritual reasons and a personal request from Morgan. Delta was aware of this decision before the transportation of his body, and embalming is not a prerequisite for the airline to transport remains. Details of the airline’s specialized care program for funeral shipments are detailed in the table below, as per the airline’s website:
Restrictions And Regulations | Cremated remains accepted. Non-cremated remains can be embalmed, combination, or casketed. Un-embalmed remains must be shipped in a sealed casket |
|---|---|
Documentation | Signed certificate of death, burial permit, and burial removal permit required by state law |
Booking, Drop Off and Acceptance Times | Must be processed at least two hours before a domestic flight, or four hours for international. Shipments must be available for pickup for two hours of actual domestic flight time, or four hours of international flight arrival time. |
Delta transports human remains through its cargo division and has to adhere to strict timing and facility guidelines. The transfer window requires cargo to arrive at the transfer window at least two hours before a connecting flight and requires paperwork, including death certificates and coordination through local licensed funeral directors.
