What is the legal situation if a passenger dies in mid-flight?
Unfortunately, having been on board in this situation I can tell you what happened on board my flight:


The deceased was covered and secured in the seat.
The passenger sitting next to the deceased were relocated.


Needless to say, it was a very somber flight. No announcements were made to the effect, but for the people sitting around the rows, it was very sobering.

The aircraft landed and everyone was told to remain in their seats. ER staff along with a bunch of other personnel came onboard.

The body was removed.

Passengers were deplaned.



Years later, I was watching an episode of Ultimate Airport Dubai where an Emirates flight suffers a similar tragedy where a business class passenger is found unconcious.

In addition to the normal scenario on board that I faced, the documentary revealed that:


The crew was changed
The person was pronounced dead by the local authorities