Woman’s Death Mid-Flight: Nigerian Family Presses Ethiopian Airlines for Explanation, Transparency

Grief-stricken and seeking justice, a Nigerian family has raised the alarm over their mother’s sudden death aboard an Ethiopian Airlines flight to the United States.

Claiming she was not ill before the journey, the family took to social media to call out the airline for its lack of transparency.

One daughter, speaking via a video on X sighted by Persecondnews, urged passengers on the same Abuja-to-Washington flight to come forward with information about what happened.

The family is calling for a widespread public outcry to force an investigation by aviation authorities.

She said: “This woman boarded Ethiopian Airlines on 19th January, 2026, from Abuja to Washington DC, but died inside the plane, and the family has contacted the airline to know the circumstances surrounding her death because she was not sick, but the airline has refused to speak with the family.

“We are using this opportunity to call on anyone who travelled in the same aircraft, ET 950, with her to please get in touch with us through the email address I will drop here.

“Even airline officials who administered first aid to her on the plane have told us that he has been warned not to speak with the family or anyone on the development. Please inbox us via this mail address, Princeucheadiele@yahoo.com, if you have any information regarding our mum’s death.”

The appeal has since attracted widespread attention online, with many Nigerians demanding transparency from the airline and authorities.

Reacting to the development in another post, the spokesman of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, Michael Achimugu, confirmed that the authority was aware of the incident, adding that the regulator was already engaging both the family and the airline.

“The NCAA is aware of this case. We are in touch with the family of the deceased as well as the airline. The Ethiopians have submitted their report, and we are waiting for some reports from the family.

“We speak with the family almost daily (we already spoke today), and we are committed to ensuring that full closure is achieved,” he said.

Contacted for comments, Ethiopian Airlines’ communication strategist, Ikechi Uko, said he could not respond to the call as he was boarding a flight, promising to return the call shortly as soon as possible.