Is it true that on average, there are three corpses on every commercial flight?

Question

I heard this statistic from a movie but I also recalled hearing about it in school. Does anyone know if this is fact? If it is, it's kept low keyed for a reason! Can you imagine flying knowing that there are at least three on board somewhere on the plane?

Answer 1

yes
sometimes they are the pilot and copilot too

Answer 2

It is true that commercial flight is the most common means of transporting corpses but the actual stats are unknown to me but i am certain that 3/ flight is far too high

Answer 3

I am on the ramp every day and I can tell you someone is blowing smoke where it don’t belong with the number they quoted. Please don't beleive everything you see in the movies. To answer your question not shipped on a regular schedule.

Sometimes a coffin will be transported on a commercial flight. But not very often, most are shipped in a cargo aircraft if possible, but not always.

Answer 4

No. It is true that human remains are shipped on commerical airlines, however it is unlikly that there would be that many on one flight.

And it's not really kept a secret, but no one's going to put it in the commercials. Would you rather they put that into the safety? "Ladies and gentle men... exits are on you left and right... your nearest exit may be behind you... oxygen masks drop from overhead... dead bodies in the cargo hold. Thank you for flying Alto Airlines!

Answer 5

I can't say for sure. If you heard it in a movie then I wouldn't count on it....

However I do know that bodies are shipped on airlines all the time. My MIL died in Michigan and was flown via a passenger airplane to Oklahoma.

Answer 6

Now there, you've gone and done it. I was trying not to waste fuel, by taking my plane. But with this info, I know I'll never fly commercial again.

Answer 7

A lot of answers but only one I see is correct. You do occassionaly have cadavers being shipping on a commercial flight but the majority of them are transported by the cargo boys. Commercial jets are made to transport passengers and their luggage and they also do transport other things like mail and small cargo. There is definatly not three bodies as an average on a commercial flight.

Answer 8

It does happen, they go as cargo, usually only on the larger airplanes, and 3 is a huge overstatement... maybe on international flights there are more but I its rare to see one corpse on a domestic flight... I dont have much reference to international cargo...

Answer 9

I worked the line and watched them unload cargo daily. I might see one once a month if that. Unless they hide them in the us mail. a&p 23 years

Answer 10

In my 12 years as a mainline pilot I have flown ONE. I had the honor of returning one of our fallen soldiers. More often we will transport organs destine for transplant.

Answer 11

I work for a major airline and handle HR (human remains) several times a week. People don't always die at home so we have to get them to where they will be buried... It has been my honor to load and unload servicemen who have died and we are returning them to their loved ones... I would say a more accurate number would be one hr per thirty flights....