In March 2011 , Dr. Christie and his wife were traveling via airplane from Los Angeles to Bangkok . Midway during the flight , he suffered a stroke . When pilots attempted to divert the flight to the nearest airport , which was Tokyo , Japan , they were told they could not land due to the earthquake that was happening at the time ( see 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami )
2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami
2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami
Walter Christie (physician)