STREAM EXCLUSIVE ORIGINALS

Dead Body of Mother Dragged 'Naked Below the Waist' Down Aisle of American Airlines Flight

Outraged passengers say Theresa Hines was mistreated.

A partially clothed woman who is believed to have died during an American Airlines flight from Dallas to Minneapolis-St. Paul was dragged down the aisle of the plane at the Twin Cities airport on Monday.  

Theresa Hines, 48, of Carrollton, Texas, was found unresponsive in the bathroom located at the rear of the plane. When the flight landed, EMT responders put Hines on a stretcher and pulled her down the aisle.

Several passengers were upset when they noticed Hines appeared to be naked from the waist down and crew members made no attempt to cover the lower half of her body.

"The EMT was out of line," passenger Art Endress, 63, told the Star Tribune. "The flight attendants could have thrown a blanket on her.”

American Airlines officials said the woman was wearing underwear and a shirt when she was removed from the plane. Airport police classified Hines's death as a possible case of cardiac arrest.

Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport spokesman Patrick Hogan said responders from Allina Health "were focused on trying to save her life and get her in the jetway, where they can continue to try to resuscitate her."

Ross Feinstein, a spokesman for American, said flight crew members do what they can "when a passenger is in medical distress" and then "hand over the responsibility for the passenger to the local first responders [and] stand clear of the situation. We let them do their work."

According to authorities and witnesses, Hines got up and went to the bathroom about halfway through the flight. When it came time to land, crew members realized there was someone still in the lavatory and checked on her. Officials believe Hines fell in distress while she was in the bathroom.

American Airlines officials said a "team of flight attendants, a doctor, three nurses and other folks tended to our passenger before the flight landed."

A GoFundMe page has been started by the family to help pay for funeral expenses. You can donate by clicking here. 

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