Irish Aviation Authority

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First report 3 Jul 2015•Latest report 3 Jul 2015

Reports, concerns and published responses

Reports over time

Reports naming this recipient by issue year.

* 2026 is projected from reports observed to 7 Sep 2026.

Reports
1

Naming this recipient

Published responses
100%

Found for named reports

Concerns addressed
1

Across all linked responses

Stated actions
1

Described in responses

Concerns and recipient responses

Statements from Irish Aviation Authority linked to the concerns in each report. Select any concern, action or position to view the source wording.

  1. Manchester West

    AI-generated summary

    Davina Tavener · 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

    Davina Tavener died on 1 November 2014 after collapsing during a Ryanair flight from Manchester to Lanzarote. Cardiopulmonary resuscitation continued until the aircraft landed, but the aircraft did not carry airway adjuncts, suction equipment, a bag-valve-mask or a defibrillator. The report raised concerns that the absence of this equipment could contribute to future deaths and called for review of the requirements for medical equipment on aircraft.

    Read the report on judiciary.uk

    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 Irish Aviation Authority; that does not assign responsibility.

    PFD Monitor interpretation

    Lack of mandatory carriage of airway adjuncts, suction equipment, bag-valve-mask equipment and defibrillators on all aircraft

    Wider context from the report

    “The Regulations do not require Aircraft to carry the equipment requested by ████████ and the minimum requirement is to carry the equipment carried by Ryanair on Flight FR2131. It was accepted that Ryanair was operating within the Regulations in relation to medical equipment on Flight FR2131. iii. The evidence at the Inquest confirmed that some Airlines do carry the equipment requested by ████████, even though there is no Regulation for such equipment to be carried. Evidence was given that the equipment is carried on some long haul flights as opposed to short haul flights but it was accepted that the differential is not relevant in view of the fact that a cardiac arrest can occur at any time whether the Aircraft is ten minutes into a flight or ten hours into a flight. iv. ████████ gave evidence, supported by the Pathologist, that when someone has suffered a cardiac arrest, time is of the essence and the equipment requested by her could be critical in an attempt to save life. ████████ confirmed that a defibrillator would be critical to survival in cardiac events and a defibrillator would give someone the best chance of survival in a situation where there is a cardiac arrest. The evidence confirmed that for every one minute when activity in the heart has stopped the chance of survival reduces by ten percent and the availability of a defibrillator at the earliest time would increase the chance of survival. Both ████████ and the Pathologist gave evidence that an airway adjunct, suction equipment, bag-valve-mask and a defibrillator should be carried on all Aircraft as a mandatory provision of medical equipment to assist in the treatment and resuscitation of a passenger on an Aircraft and to give a passenger the best chance of survival until the Aircraft can reach the nearest destination. The provision of the aforementioned equipment would be used for the reasons explained in ████████ evidence and detailed in paragraph 4.4 of this report. v. Evidence was given that all the above equipment is now available as relatively inexpensive portable equipment and, in particular, a defibrillator is very simple to operate in that the defibrillator will announce instructions in relation to use by the operator. vi. It may be felt that cases of sudden cardiac arrest on Aircraft are very rare but Airlines carrying defibrillators have led to lives being saved and the saving of a single life would justify the availability of equipment on all Aircraft for use as and when a medical emergency arises. The Federal Aviation Authority has required US Airlines to carry a defibrillator on flights since 1994. vii. The evidence raised concerns that there is a risk that future deaths will occur unless action is taken to review the above issues. ”
    Open source report

    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

    Write to Ryanair about carrying AEDs on its fleet.

    Verbatim wording from the response

    “Regarding the carriage of AED’s on short-haul aircraft, there may be very little impact on the actual overall statistics. Notwithstanding that, I can confirm that the Chief Executive of the IAA has written to the Chief Executive of Ryanair on the matter. Further to that correspondence, it is our understanding that Ryanair are now positively reviewing the”

    Source location

    2015-0252-Response-by-IAA
    Page 2 · response
    Published 3 July 2015

    Open published response

    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

    Operators are responsible for deciding whether to carry AEDs based on the particular needs and risk assessment of each operation.

    Verbatim wording from the response

    “Namely the acceptable means of compliance to the rule concerned (CAT.IDE.A.225), listing the content of the Emergency Medical Kit, recommend operators to determine through risk assessment the need to carry the defibrillator. So there is no strict requirement for operators, but only a recommendation based on the result of a risk assessment.”

    Source location

    2015-0252-Response-by-IAA
    Page 2 · response
    Published 3 July 2015

    Open published response

    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 EASA and ICAO arrangements, including operator risk assessments, are considered sufficient; AED carriage is not strictly required.

    Verbatim wording from the response

    “All AOC holders are in full compliance with the recommendations of European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) and International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO).”

    Source location

    2015-0252-Response-by-IAA
    Page 2 · response
    Published 3 July 2015

    Open published response
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Information checked against published PFD reports and official responses · Data reviewed 7 Sep 2026 · About data quality and limitations

Data last updated 7 September 2026