Tony Aldapa was on United’s diverted flight on Dec. 14 when the plane bound for Los Angeles International Airport was diverted during a medical emergency. One man suffered what was initially considered a heart attack. Passengers say the man had coronavirus-like symptoms and his wife told airline staff that she had tested positive for COVID-19 the previous week.
Several passengers with medical experience intervened to help resuscitate the man, including Aldapa, who reportedly performed CPR for nearly an hour.
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“When I woke up again on Wednesday, my whole body was still sore. I had a headache, a little cough, and then a little bit, every day since then my cough will be a little worse or my pain “It’s a little worse, I feel like I’ve been hit by a train. It’s not good,” said Aldapa.
He has since been negative once and awaits the results of a second test.
Passengers wonder why the man was allowed to board the flight.
A person who says he was on the flight tweeted at United.
@unit May I ask you how you left a positive, covetous man last night? It was shaking and soft on the plane. He was clearly ill and died halfway through. We had an emergency landing in New Orleans and didn’t even change planes. We were all seated
– megan💎 (@callmemagen) December 15, 2020
He claimed that airline staff “wiped his blood and germs with wet wipes.”
The man’s wife told everyone on board and the staff and the nurse that she was a positive covidi. I was 3 rows away. I heard what was being said. The wife stated that she was symptomatic for more than a week. The nurse and the emt who worked on him told everyone around him to get tested.
– megan💎 (@callmemagen) December 15, 2020
Passenger Megan Hubbard said the man was shaking and had difficulty breathing.
Hubbard said she and Cameron Roberts were three rows away and heard the woman talking to EMT.
“He immediately said he had tested positive for COVID like a week ago and that he had symptoms and had trouble breathing,” Hubbard said.
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The airline reported in a written statement that, at the time of the incident, it was determined that the passenger “suffered a cardiac arrest, so passengers had the option to take a later flight or continue with the your travel plans “.
United says all passengers decided to stay on the plane.
Hubbard and Roberts said they were not given the option to leave the plane.
“It was more like everyone was comfortable, we’ll go ahead and continue once we refill everything,” Roberts filled out.
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Hubbard and Roberts say they have been tested and are in quarantine, but so far no one from United or CDC has contacted them.
United says the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has contacted the airline.
“We are sharing the requested information with the agency so they can work with local health officials to disclose any client that CDC believes may be at risk for possible exposure or infection,” United said in a statement. “The safety and health of our employees and customers is our top priority, which is why we have a number of policies and procedures in place, such as masking mandates and requiring customers to complete a checklist” Ready to fly “before the flight recognizes that they have not been diagnosed with COVID-19 in the last 14 days and have no COVID-related symptoms.”
An infectious disease expert explained the risks of flying during the pandemic.
“We also ask passengers to get tested before taking off, but a negative test two days ago doesn’t mean they aren’t spreading the virus today because they were incubating when the test was done,” said Dr. Suman M. Radhakrishna, with Dignity Health Hospital in California, told Eyewitness News on Friday.
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