The airport doctors’ logbook says they got the alert message at 7.20 pm. The Indian Airlines’ flight touched down at 7.40 pm. But the doctors could get on board after 20 long, nerve-wracking minutes. Reason: The airline ladder was not available.

The death certificate issued by AIIMS says the 60-year-old from Mumbai suburb Thane had died 10 minutes before the Lucknow-Delhi-Mumbai flight landed at 7.40 pm. But the anxious family had no way of knowing that — for 20 minutes all they did was wait for the ladder to be in place. And pray.

As per information, Kulkarni was stretchered on to the flight: she had suffered a serious cervical injury after an accidental fall. The victim had gone to Lucknow with husband R R Kulkarni to attend a religious function. After receiving the injury she was admitted in Neera Hospital, in Lucknow’s Aliganj area, for past eight days.

Son Rahul, husband and son-in-law were on board on Thursday’s flight back home.

According to reports, son Rahul informed the cabin crew after Kulkarni developed complications some 20 minutes before the flight was to touch down at IGI. The flight captain then alerted the air traffic controller (ATC) that a passenger was serious and needed immediate medical attention upon landing.

Accordingly, the ground staff alerted the medical unit. This was 7.20 pm; doctors had by then assembled at bay number 120, where the flight landed at 7.40 pm.

At 8 pm, when they finally got on board after the ladders arrived, the doctors declared Kulkarni dead.

“She was a stretcher patient; we had been informed before the flight took off,” an Indian Airlines spokesperson said. “There wasn’t any delay in dealing with the patient.”

All flights are required to be equipped with an emergency kit to handle every sort of medical ailment; the airline crew, too, is trained to handle medical emergencies. According to police figures, 11 persons died on board last years; 12 had died in 2006.