ITA Airways Flight Attendant Dies Suddenly in Front of Passengers

The Heartbreaking Passing of Gabriella Cario

A flight atten­dant and moth­er of three died in front of hor­ri­fied pas­sen­gers on board a domes­tic flight in Italy — after she ini­tial­ly decid­ed against seek­ing med­ical help because she want­ed to get back to her family.

Gabriel­la Cario, 57, was report­ed­ly feel­ing sick while she wait­ed to board an ITA Air­ways flight to Rome at Reg­gio Cal­abria Air­port, south­east of Naples, on Saturday. 

The sea­soned flight atten­dant — who worked for the air­line but was board­ing as a pas­sen­ger for the fate­ful flight — decid­ed against seek­ing med­ical help because she was eager to return home, where her hus­band and three sons were wait­ing for her.

The Tragic Incident Onboard

When Cario final­ly got on the plane, how­ev­er, her con­di­tion rapid­ly wors­ened and she died just a few min­utes lat­er — all with­in plain view of her shocked fel­low travelers. 

All pas­sen­gers were forced to dis­em­bark the plane as para­medics rushed on board, but they were unable to revive her.

The ITA flight was post­poned until the evening, which caused oth­er flights out of the air­port to be delayed. Car­i­o’s cause of death has been report­ed as a “sud­den illness.”

Remembering Gabriella Cario

“I knew Gabriel­la. She was a bright, always smil­ing, and kind woman,” Sabau­dia May­or Alber­to Mosca said. “On behalf of the admin­is­tra­tion and the entire com­mu­ni­ty, I extend our heart­felt con­do­lences to her hus­band and her beloved three children.”

Car­i­o’s funer­al was held on Tues­day in Sabau­dia, where she lived with her fam­i­ly. This trag­ic inci­dent has left the avi­a­tion com­mu­ni­ty and Car­i­o’s loved ones in mourning.