Man 'chokes to death eating Jetstar meal'

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Man 'chokes to death eating Jetstar meal'

A 31-year-old man has choked and died while eating an airline meal on a Jetstar flight, reports said today.
Robert Rippingale had been eating a beef dinner while watching a movie when his girlfriend noticed him shaking, the New Zealand Herald reports.
"I thought he was laughing very hard, then I looked at his face and his eyes were rolling and he couldn't talk," Vanessa Preechakul, 27, said. "His lips were turning purple.
"One minute we were sitting next to each other kissing, holding hands and the next minute he was choking."
He was pronounced dead 90 minutes into the 11-hour flight from Singapore to Auckland.
Jetstar spokesman Andrew McGinnes said the cause of death was still unknown and the coroner would be doing a report to officially determine it.
Mr McGinnes expressed his condolences to the family and thanked the doctor and nurses who tried to save Mr Rippingale.
"This was a very difficult and sad event and our sympathies are with the passenger's family," he said.

SEE http://www.news.com.au/world/man-chokes-to-death-eating-jetstar-meal/sto...

http://www.news.com.au/world/man-chokes-to-death-eating-jetstar-meal/sto...

A MAN who died on a Jetstar flight with his girlfriend by his side had a pre-existing heart condition, his family said yesterday.

Robert Rippingale, 31, died when he appeared to choke on a meal and was unable to be revived by on-board medical staff last week.

He was on his way to New Zealand with Vanessa Preechakul to introduce her to his family.

"The police told us he choked on the food on his flight, but he had a heart problem so we think it might have been that," Robert's father David Rippingale said.

http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/heart-ailment-blamed-for-death-of-...