Nurse dies on holiday flight hours after excited Facebook message saying 'I'm off to Barbados'
By Daily Mail Reporter
Last updated at 11:05 AM on 28th September 2010
A nurse has died on board a flight to the Caribbean just hours after updating her Facebook status to reveal her excitement about the trip.
Claire Aitken, 42, collapsed on a Virgin Atlantic plane from London Gatwick to Barbados. The cause of death is unknown.
Hours earlier she had posted her last status on the social networking site as she waited to board the plane with partner Nick Grantham.
Tragic: Claire Aitken(right), pictured with an unidentified companion, collapsed and died on a Virgin Atlantic plane from London Gatwick to Barbados
'Sat in airport bar sampling a vino and waiting to board flight to Barbados,' she wrote at 7.43pm on Friday.
She was pronounced dead by medical staff on arrival at Grantley Adams International Airport, in Bridgetown.
The senior nurse from Burton upon Trent, Staffordshire, worked at Cedar Court Nursing Home, in Bretby Park, Burton, and was taking the break with her partner, Nick Grantham.
A Virgin Atlantic spokesman said: 'We can confirm that a female passenger travelling on flight VS035 sadly died onboard.
'The flight was a Boeing 747-400 aircraft and had 252 passengers with 16 crew members on board.
'Virgin Atlantic would like to extend its sympathies to the family and friends of the passenger.'
A spokesman for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office also confirmed Ms Aitken's death said it was providing consular assistance to her next of kin.
A tribute posted on Facebook by Lalaine Muyot, said: 'To all staff at Cedar Court and those who were very close to Claire, I would like to say I'm very lonely and so upset she has gone. She is the one of the best nurses I had.'
'I was always thinking that she's a nice person and I wish that we will see each other again. I really liked her and I hope she rests in peace.'
Another, posted by her friend Kat Aslam, said: 'Life is too short, appreciate what you have got because you never know how long that someone special is going to be in your life. RIP Claire.'
Ms Aitken attended Robert Smyth School, in Sheffield, before studying at the city's university.
Her interests on the social networking site said she enjoyed travelling, watching football and cricket, along with having a soft spot for Staffordshire Bull Terriers.
She enjoyed listening to music from the likes of The Cure, Kirsty MacColl, The Smiths and Peter Tosh. Her partner Mr Grantham was not available for comment.
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佛曰 : 無常呀!