Shanghai-New York flight lands in Tokyo with ailing patient

A China Eastern Airlines flight, bound from Shanghai to New York, discharged tons of fuel in the air to make a diverted landing in Tokyo on Tuesday night after a passenger coughed blood amid quickening heartbeat.

A 63-year-old unidentified man on flight MU587 that took off from Pudong International Airport at 11:42am told flight attendants at 4:16pm that he felt uncomfortable, when the Boeing 777 aircraft was flying over the Sea of Okhotsk to the east of the Russian island of Sakhalin.

Crew members then triggered the "emergency rescue procedure" that includes offering oxygen mask to the man and looking for doctors among other passengers, China Eastern said.

A Chinese and two American doctors voluntarily checked the patient, whose nationality was not revealed, and found his physical condition unstable. He was later transferred to the business-class cabin to lie down and take rest.

The flight captain then ordered the release of 45 tons of fuel in the air as he diverted the flight to the nearby Narita International Airport at 7:19pm (Tokyo time).

An ambulance, waiting on the apron, rushed the man to a local hospital, where his condition was reported to be stable, the airline revealed. The aircraft took off again at 8:55pm, taking the rest of passengers to New York after refueling.

China Eastern said in a statement that it is an international convention for aircraft to discharge abundant fuel before emergency landing to avoid putting too much weight on the landing gear.

The fuel is atomized right after it is released in the atmosphere and causes limited pollution to the environment, the carrier explained.

Most airports have designated fuel-discharging zones that are away from cities, airports and forests, the Shanghai-based airline said.