Houston-bound passenger dies during flight from Germany

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- A passenger on board a Houston-bound flight from Germany died at some point during the nearly 11-hour journey Tuesday.

George Bush Intercontinental Airport officials received a call regarding the passenger's passing around 1:30 p.m., according to a Houston Airports spokesman.

Houston Fire Department and law enforcement were called to the airliner involved.

The cause of the death and the passenger's gender was not immediately disclosed.

A Lufthansa representative added the flight affected was LH440, an Airbus 380-800 aircraft that originated from Frankfurt. The airline's spokeswoman said in a statement:

As is normal procedure, upon arrival, all passengers must remain onboard while the local authorities and police complete their job. A delay to de-board LH 440 was expected and so therefore the LH 441 (Houston - Frankfurt) departure was pushed back to one hour later.

According to the airline's website, the flight departed Germany at 10:03 a.m. Frankfurt time. It was scheduled for a 1:50 p.m. CT arrival at Terminal D.

The total number of people on board is not immediately known, but this aircraft has a seating capacity of 509 passengers, according to Lufthansa.