Tony Aldapa was on the diverted United flight on Dec. 14 when the plane was diverted on its way to Los Angeles International Airport during a medical emergency. One man suffered from what was initially thought of as a heart attack. Passengers said the man was showing coronavirus-like symptoms, and his wife told airline staff that he had tested positive for COVID-19 the week before.
Several passengers with medical experience stepped in 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 aching. I had a headache, a little bit of a cough, and then it was a little bit – since then my cough will be a little bit worse, otherwise my headache will go away. “I feel like I was hit by a train. Not good,” said Aldapa.
He has since tested negative once and is awaiting results from a second test.
Passengers wonder why the man was allowed to board the flight.
One person who says she was on the run tweeted to United.
@United may I ask how you admitted a positive man on my flight last night? He was shaking and sweating on board the plane. He was clearly ill and then died mid-flight. We had an emergency landing in New Orleans and we didn’t even change planes after that. We all sat
– megan💎 (@callmemagen) December 15, 2020
She claimed the airline staff “cleaned up his blood and germs with wet wipes”.
The man’s wife told everyone on board and the staff and the nurse that he was positive. I was 3 rows away. I heard what was said. The woman stated that he was symptomatic for more than a week. The nurse and 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 having trouble breathing.
Hubbard said she and Cameron Roberts were just three rows away and overheard the woman talking to EMTs.
“She immediately said that he had tested positive for COVID a week ago and that he had symptoms and difficulty breathing,” said Hubbard.
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The airline said in a written statement that at the time of the incident, the passenger was found to have “suffered cardiac arrest, allowing passengers to take a later flight or to continue with their travel plans.”
United says all passengers decided to stay on the plane.
Hubbard and Roberts said they were not allowed to get off the plane.
“It was more like, when everyone is comfortable, we’ll go ahead and move on as soon as we’ve topped up everything,” added Roberts.
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Hubbard and Roberts say they have been tested and quarantined, but so far no one from United or the CDC has contacted them.
United says the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have contacted the airline.
“We will share the requested information with the agency so they can work with local health officials to liaise with any customer the CDC believes may be at risk of potential exposure or infection,” United said in a statement. “The health and safety of our employees and customers is our highest priority, so we have implemented several policies and procedures, such as mask mandates and requiring customers to complete a ‘Ready-to-Fly’ checklist before the flight confirms they have done so has not been diagnosed with COVID-19 in the past 14 days and has no COVID-related symptoms. “
An infectious disease expert explained the risks of flying during the pandemic.
“We also ask passengers to get tested before boarding, but a negative test two days ago does not mean they are not spreading the virus today because they were brooding when the test was taken,” says Dr. Suman. M. Radhakrishna of Dignity Health California Hospital told Eyewitness News Friday.
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