An autopsy will be performed Thursday on a 61-year-old woman from Ventura, Calif., found dead in the restroom of a Delta Air Lines jet that landed in Atlanta early Wednesday morning.

The crew noticed the restroom was occupied as Flight 950 from Los Angeles made a final approach to land at 5:51 a.m., Delta spokeswoman Keyra Johnson said. Delta officials have not said how long the woman, identified as Michaele O'Neil Carnahan, may have been in the restroom. "Upon final approach into Atlanta, our in-flight crew was advised that a passenger passed away in the on-board restroom," Johnson said. "Medical professionals and authorities met the flight."

Atlanta police were notified and met the plane at the gate, Johnson said. They respond to calls about dead bodies on airplanes a couple of times a year, police spokesman Officer Eric Schwartz said.

Agents at the Georgia Bureau of Investigation hope to learn a cause of death after medical examiners perform Thursday's scheduled autopsy, according to GBI spokesman John Bankhead.

"It appears to be natural, but the autopsy will confirm that," Bankhead said.