Mxsmanic wrote:
Mike writes:

Several years back I was on a flight from Atlanta to Orlando on a B-757.
About halfway there we were at 31000 ft. and I heard one flight
attendant tell another "We're got to get this stuff (referring to
service items)picked up NOW!" About that time the spoilers popped up,
and we nosed down. There had been smoke in the passenger cabin, with
somewhat of a electrical insulation odor and we were heading to
Jacksonville as fas as we could get on the ground. As I recall, we were
on the ground and at the gate in less than 15 minutes from the first
indications of an 'event'. (The problem turned out to be a minor short
in the crew computer.)

An emergency affecting the entire flight is different from an emergency
affecting a single passenger.
Perhaps.. Perhaps not.
The OP asked how quickly the aircraft could reach medical help on the
ground. I believe my experience addressed that question. It is up to
the PIC to determine the extent of the emergency. I suspect that if the
PIC of a commercial flight believed that the life of a single passenger
was in danger unless medical help was obtained soon, the resulting
"flight profile" would be very similar to what I experienced. All the
PIC has to do is declare an emergency.
Mike ( a "real pilot")

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