This is a photo of Aditya Mohan. How cute he is na ?
Sadly, Aditya is no more. Unfortunately this cute baby of just 4.5 months died on 17 June 2008 in a Jet Airways Plane during its landing at IGI Airport Delhi. The baby was being breast-fed by his mother during the landing and he suddenly stopped sucking. His parents alerted the plane crew and sought help from others. A fellow passenger who was a doctor checked the baby but could not help much. When the plane landed at the Airport, a doctor examined him and declared the baby dead on arrival.
The autopsy of the baby states the cause of death as “asphyxiation due to chocking.” The parents have been told that this is a rarest of rare case. However, the parents and many other people (including me) feel that the fact that the baby suddenly died in the aircraft during descent, warrants an investigation into circumstances inside the aircraft that may results into his death.
Aditya’s parents, who are in state of deep grief, have raised many questions relating to the conditions of the plane that might have lead to their baby’s death. They have started a blog where this entire issue has been explained in detail. They want that the points raised by them should be investigated thoroughly by the Jet Airways so as to ensure that no parents of an infant ever undergoes such an ordeal. An online petition has also been made so as to ensure that Jet Airways’ safety and security practices can be investigated by the authorities.
I know that this sad incident has shattered the life of Aditya’s parents. No amount of further investigations can ever bring Aditya back to them. However, I am deeply moved by their relentless pursuit to ensure that in future no other infant died in the same way as their lovely child.
Regarding the death of Aditya, I searched the internet to find any similar incident where a child had died during landing of the plane. However, I could not find any similar case. It is possible that the overall condition on the plane were not congenial for an infant like Aditya. When a plane lands or take off, it makes too much noise. These audible sounds are not considered suitable for very small infants and may affect their ears. However, only in very rare cases they may prove fatal to a child.
One more theory which I found that it is also a possibility that the child might have suffocated while feeding his mother’s milk owing to the wrong posture of Brest feeding of his mother. The infants are very small and delicate and they can’t bear the pressure of the breasts of their mother. Therefore, all women are advised to be extra careful while breast-feeding their baby. However, in the instant case of Aditya this theory does not appear to be convincing. Aditya’s mother is a educated woman who lives in Canada and it can be assumed that she must have known about the basic techniques of breast feeding.
I can only say that it was the bad luck of Aditya’s parents that they lost him in such an unfortunate way.
The law of natural justice says that nobody should be declared guilty unless giving him a reasonable opportunity to defend himself. In this case, it will to too early to play the blame game and accusing Jet Airways straightaway. However, given their brand image as an excellent service provider, it would be befitting for the Jet Airways to initiate a suo moto inquiry in the matter. I think that will be the best way to ensure justice to the bereaved parents of Aditya Mohan.
Being the father of a one year old kid, I can understand how much affection we develop with our children and how painful it is for the parents when their children face any difficulty.
May God give Aditya’s parents courage to bear his loss. May Aditya’s soul rest in peace.
You can sign the online petition to help Aditya’s parents here.
fellow passenger grief investigations jet airways online petition security practices
If you wish to keep in touch, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!
