The woman who died on board a Sydney-bound Qatar Airways flight this weekend has been identified as a beloved train station attendant who was returning from a holiday to visit her daughter in London.
Sharon Gordon’s 60-year-old mother, believed to be from Campbelltown in Sydney’s south-west, was traveling on flight QR908 from Doha when she began gasping for breath halfway through the 14-hour journey.
She died a short time later, while cabin crew reportedly waited 20 minutes before performing CPR.
The airline previously said she “couldn’t be revived”, but a couple sitting in front of her claimed they “didn’t feel like they (cabin crew) were doing enough” when she started having breathing difficulties.
Her dear friend Margaret Stolk said she was ‘devastated and completely shocked’ by the news of her death.
“Just over two weeks ago I hugged my boyfriend and we wished each other a fantastic holiday with the promise of catching up on our return to Australia,” Ms Stolk wrote on Facebook.
“At 5:30 a.m….I got the news that she didn’t make it.”
Sharon Gordon (pictured), 60, believed to be from Campbelltown in Sydney’s south-west, was on Qatar Airways flight QR908 from Doha when she began gasping for breath halfway through the 14-hour journey
“I have no words to express how overwhelmed I am with grief. I now sit on the balcony of my hotel reminiscing about our antics, alternating between tears and laughter.’
‘I will miss you Shaz, but you will always be in our hearts. Rest in peace, buddy.’
Her partner Rob Bray told the story 7NEWS her loved ones are devastated.
“I love her and will miss her so much,” he said.
‘Mom of Cameron and Ashley. She will be greatly missed by all of us.
‘Her colleagues at Wynyard Station are devastated.’
Passengers Francesca and her husband Enrico, who only gave their first names for privacy reasons, previously said that after Ms Gordon died, the flight crew “just left her there” with a blanket over her.
The couple first alerted airline stewards after hearing Mrs Gordon making a ‘strange noise’.
“It looked like she was sleeping, but she was making a really loud noise,” Francesca said.
Mrs Gordon was a much-loved customer service station employee at Wynyard Station in central Sydney (pictured with colleagues)
Qatar Airways previously said cabin crew did everything they could and Ms Gordon “could not be revived”. But passengers sitting nearby gave a different take on their reaction (stock image)
Staff tried to wake Ms Gordon and called for other crew members who had brought an oxygen mask.
“But then they just left,” Francesca claimed.
The couple says staff told them “everything was fine.”
“You could see she wasn’t breathing,” Francesca said.
Then, Francesca claimed, another 20 minutes passed before a cabin crew member returned with another passenger to try to remove Ms Gordon, who Fracesca described as ‘limp’, from her seat.
They took her to another part of the plane, where they reportedly performed CPR and used a defibrillator.
“I think she was gone at the time,” Francesca said.
“Why didn’t they do that half an hour earlier?”
Ms Gordon’s devastated family have asked the federal government for help after the airline said it had done all it could
One passenger has criticized the cabin crew’s response, claiming: ‘They just left her there’
An announcement over the public address system then asked whether there were doctors on board.
Another half hour passed before the passengers behind Francesca and her husband were moved and the woman’s corpse was moved back to the row of seats and covered with a blanket.
When the plane landed, everyone was told to remain seated while emergency services tended to the dead woman.
Francesca said the airline should have handled the situation better.
“They just left her there,” she said.
Ms Gordon’s devastated family have asked the federal government for help after the airline said it had done all it could.
Daily Mail Australia has contacted Qatar Airways for comment.
“Unfortunately, the lady could not be revived,” an airline spokesperson said earlier.
“Our thoughts are with the family at this difficult time.”
Qatar Airways previously said she ‘couldn’t be revived’ but a couple sitting in front of Mrs Gordon revealed ‘it didn’t feel like they (cabin crew) were doing enough’ when she started having breathing difficulties (stock image)