DALLAS - The unexpected discovery of human body parts about to board a Southwest Airlines jet set off a firestorm of e-mails to the WFAA newsroom.
Viewers were shocked that human heads bound for Fort Worth were going to be flown on the same plane as passengers.
But strange shipments are very common on all passenger planes, not just Southwest Airlines. It may sound strange, but the discovery of human heads aboard the Southwest jet is a lot more common than most would think.
"A lot of medical supplies - blood, things that we would consider icky or scary - is just part of the transportation system," said Sam Coats, an airlines industry expert.
Coats is a former vice president of Southwest Airlines and says medical research and funerals are a big reason human cargo is safely and routinely transported.
"Frankly, heads don't pose a risk," he said.
Customers, usually, never know a thing about it.
"Why upset people about something they don't need to be upset about?" Coats said. "Everything that an airline can carry in terms of cargo is regulated by the Federal Aviation Act."
The head are expected to be delivered to Medtronic, a Fort Worth-based medical research center credited with developing the implantable defibrillator, heart stents, pacemakers and drug pumps.
"In Fort Worth, what we do specifically is we're working on developing the powered surgical tools for neurosurgery and that's why these kinds of specimens, particularly with cranial specimens ,are important," said Brian Henry, a Medtronic spokesman.
Henry said Medtronic procures body parts from suppliers who work with families that donate their loved ones to medical research. The body parts are then transported by plane and later used to test and develop life-saving medical devices.
E-mail: sgables@wfaa.com
