On an almost nine-hour flight from Minnesota to London, a 44-year-old Minneapolis attorney rested her head on her mom’s shoulder and drifted off, never waking again.
Rachel Green, a 44-year-old insurance attorney from Minnesota, boarded a transatlantic flight from Minneapolis to London on April 30, 2025, with the intention of continuing her work on a novel focused on Eleanor of Aquitaine, the powerful queen of both France and England.
“She was finally writing again (side note: Rachel was secretly a brilliant writer) and on her way to London to further research her historical fiction on Eleanor of Aquitaine,” Green’s sister, Roxanne Carney, said in a GoFundMe.
“She was flying for a much-anticipated trip to the UK. Rachel had spent the past couple of years recovering from an unexpected illness, relearning to walk, and having to relocate back to her hometown in Minnesota to recuperate,” Carney explained, adding that the lawyer had only recently regained the strength to pursue her literary ambitions.
“She exuded unyielding strength and courage at even the most difficult times,” Carney wrote.
Died resting head on mom’s shoulder
Accompanied by her mother, Mary Sweeney, Green settled in for the long flight and eventually rested her head on her mom’s shoulder.
Sometime during the journey, she fell asleep and remained in that position for the rest of the flight.
When the plane landed at Heathrow Airport, the calm appearance that had gone unnoticed by passengers and crew revealed a far more tragic reality – Green was unresponsive and had died mid-flight.
“There is no evidence that Rachel had any opportunity to be resuscitated. Her death appears to have been instantaneous,” Senior Coroner Lydia Brown said at an inquest held at West London Coroner’s Court, per SWNS.
Undiagnosed heart condition
The court recently heard that at the time of her death, Green had multiple substances in her system, including anti-depressants, melatonin and a low concentration of alcohol, pathologist Dr Alan Bates revealed.
In addition to the pharmacological findings, medical examiners also discovered that she had an undiagnosed heart condition.
“She also had a congenital heart condition. This contributed to her death, along with the medications,” Brown said.
Brown emphasized that the investigation had found no indications of misuse or abuse of medication, nor any evidence to suggest that Green was taking any drugs recreationally. “There was no evidence she was taking any in excess,” she said, a statement that brought some clarity to the circumstances but left deeper systemic concerns unresolved.
‘Ethically, how can you do this?’
Green’s sister spoke during the inquest and revealed that Green had previously undergone a heart test which yielded abnormal results, yet despite those findings, she had never been referred to a cardiologist.
“I wonder why she was never referred to a cardiologist before being prescribed this combination. Why was she on this regimen? Why are they prescribing this combination of medications?” Carney asked.
Carney went on to express frustration over the lack of clinical oversight, asking, “If you can see all the records, ethically, how can you do this?”
Her questions, directed at the system as a whole, reflected broader concerns about the protocols surrounding prescription practices.
Brown acknowledged the issues and noted that “It is reviewed here [in the UK].”
“Unfortunately, the entirety of your population doesn’t seem to have that. I am not here to criticize another system – especially not in these dangerous times. [It is] unusual to find so many different [drugs]. Matters are done very differently in the U.S.,” Brown said at the inquest.
‘Lost an angel on earth’
“On April 30th, 2025, we lost an angel on earth and gained one in heaven,” Green’s sister wrote on the GoFundMe page that as of Jan. 29, has raised over $5,700.
“We are at the greatest loss as we piece together a life without her physically present but forever with us. Rachel was beyond selfless, always taking care of everyone around her and trying to guide people to the goodness in life…”
According to the fundraiser page, contributions will support the Lakeshore Players Theatre in Minnesota, a place where Green had recently rekindled her passion for the stage, as well as fund a memorial in her honor at Golders Green Crematorium in London.
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