4 Sep 2017 Anthony William McCormack · Prevention of Future Deaths report Manchester City
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Concerns raised 4 Failure of ambulance services to meet nationally set emergency response-time targets View source Inadequate training of airline staff to recognise cardiac arrest and administer first aid or prompt CPR View source Inadequate procedures for responding when the Tempus system is unable to provide assistance View source Insufficient paramedic staffing to provide Advanced Life Support at Manchester Airport View source See 1 more concern
Actions described in response An action is something this recipient says it has done, is doing, or plans to do in response to the concern raised. 2
Action
Implement manual emergency-assessment procedures enabling crew to assess and provide care when the Tempus system or other equipment cannot assist.
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Action
Provide initial and annual refresher first-aid and CPR training to cabin crew, including recognition of abnormal breathing as a cardiac-arrest sign.
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AI-generated summary
Anthony William McCormack · Prevention of Future Deaths report
This summary was generated using AI from the published report. Please read the original report for the complete account.
Report summary
Anthony William McCormack became unwell and collapsed while an aircraft was taxiing at Manchester Airport, later suffering cardiac arrest and dying after resuscitation attempts at Wythenshawe Hospital. The report identified concerns about Emirates staff recognising cardiac arrest and agonal breathing, starting CPR promptly, and procedures when the Tempus system could not provide assistance. It also raised concerns about ambulance response targets and the availability of only one paramedic at Manchester Airport.
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× Source evidence
How this individual concern was interpreted PFD Monitor created a concise, searchable interpretation from the report wording shown below. The report was sent to Emirates; that does not assign responsibility.
PFD Monitor interpretation Failure of ambulance services to meet nationally set emergency response-time targets
Wider context from the report “• I heard evidence that NWAS failed to meet target times which are nationally set by the Department of Health and that although NWAS was given more financial resources in November 2015 (for provision of more ambulances and recruitment of an additional 400 staff) I was also informed since April 2017 none of the nationally set targets have been met by any ambulance trust in England and Wales namely, a Red 1 response within 8 minutes 75% of the time, Red 2 within 19 minutes 95% of the time, I was also informed that there has been a massive increase of calls to 999 with consequent impact on response times and delays in ambulance turnaround at hospitals.
” Open source report × Source evidence
How this individual concern was interpreted PFD Monitor created a concise, searchable interpretation from the report wording shown below. The report was sent to Emirates; that does not assign responsibility.
PFD Monitor interpretation Inadequate training of airline staff to recognise cardiac arrest and administer first aid or prompt CPR
Wider context from the report “• The adequacy of the training of Emirates staff in respect of the recognition of possible cardiac arrest and signs thereof including agonal breathing and the administration of appropriate first aid/prompt CPR
” Open source report × Source evidence
How this individual concern was interpreted PFD Monitor created a concise, searchable interpretation from the report wording shown below. The report was sent to Emirates; that does not assign responsibility.
PFD Monitor interpretation Inadequate procedures for responding when the Tempus system is unable to provide assistance
Wider context from the report “• The adequacy and effectiveness of the procedures followed by Emirates staff in the event that the Tempus system is unable to provide assistance which was the case here.
” Open source report × Source evidence
How this individual concern was interpreted PFD Monitor created a concise, searchable interpretation from the report wording shown below. The report was sent to Emirates; that does not assign responsibility.
PFD Monitor interpretation Insufficient paramedic staffing to provide Advanced Life Support at Manchester Airport
Wider context from the report “• Consequent on the above and in this specific case there was only one paramedic on duty at any one time for the Manchester Airport . Such paramedic being required to carry out Basic Life Support alone and unable to start Advanced Life Support .
” Open source report
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Source evidence
How this respondent action was interpreted
PFD Monitor created a concise, searchable interpretation from the published response wording shown below.
PFD Monitor interpretation Implement manual emergency-assessment procedures enabling crew to assess and provide care when the Tempus system or other equipment cannot assist.
Verbatim wording from the response “Emirates has robust procedures in place to deal with medical emergencies and all crew are trained in these procedures on an annual basis. The primary focus of these procedures is on practical, manual skills in assessing and providing care, which can be used by crew in a wide range of on-board medical emergency situations. For example, crew are trained to use the “Look, Listen and Feel” method, together with assessing the level of responsiveness, to determine the adequacy of breathing of a passenger in medical difficulty.” Source location 2017-0241-Response-by-Emirates
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Source evidence
How this respondent action was interpreted
PFD Monitor created a concise, searchable interpretation from the published response wording shown below.
PFD Monitor interpretation Provide initial and annual refresher first-aid and CPR training to cabin crew, including recognition of abnormal breathing as a cardiac-arrest sign.
Verbatim wording from the response “First Aid and CPR training is undertaken by all Emirates cabin crew both as part of their initial training and also on an annual basis as refresher training on medical procedures. The CPR training conducted by Emirates in each of these instances meets the rigorous standards set by leading international bodies, including the International Liaison Committee on Resuscitation (ILCOR), the American Heart Association (AHA) and the European Resuscitation Council. This training includes information on the recognition of abnormal breathing as a sign of cardiac arrest and this is reflected in the Emirates Operating Manuals and training materials covering this issue.” Source location 2017-0241-Response-by-Emirates
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Source evidence
How this respondent position was interpreted
PFD Monitor created a concise, searchable interpretation from the published response wording shown below.
PFD Monitor interpretation Existing training, manuals and ongoing monitoring of resuscitation developments are considered sufficient; no additional cardiac-arrest training action is proposed.
Verbatim wording from the response “First Aid and CPR training is undertaken by all Emirates cabin crew both as part of their initial training and also on an annual basis as refresher training on medical procedures. The CPR training conducted by Emirates in each of these instances meets the rigorous standards set by leading international bodies, including the International Liaison Committee on Resuscitation (ILCOR), the American Heart Association (AHA) and the European Resuscitation Council. This training includes information on the recognition of abnormal breathing as a sign of cardiac arrest and this is reflected in the Emirates Operating Manuals and training materials covering this issue.” Source location 2017-0241-Response-by-Emirates
Open published response
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Source evidence
How this respondent position was interpreted
PFD Monitor created a concise, searchable interpretation from the published response wording shown below.
PFD Monitor interpretation Existing manual assessment and care procedures are considered sufficient when Tempus or other medical equipment fails; no additional action is proposed.
Verbatim wording from the response “Emirates has robust procedures in place to deal with medical emergencies and all crew are trained in these procedures on an annual basis. The primary focus of these procedures is on practical, manual skills in assessing and providing care, which can be used by crew in a wide range of on-board medical emergency situations. For example, crew are trained to use the “Look, Listen and Feel” method, together with assessing the level of responsiveness, to determine the adequacy of breathing of a passenger in medical difficulty.” Source location 2017-0241-Response-by-Emirates
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Information checked against published PFD reports and official responses · Data reviewed 7 Sep 2026 · About data quality and limitations