Yesterday, I wrote about the mystery surrounding a death onboard a United Airlines flight from Orlando to Los Angeles. Today, we have confirmation that the deceased passenger had COVID-19.
Man Who Died On United Airlines Did Have COVID-19
First reported by View from the Wing, UA591 diverted to New Orleans after a man suffered a cardiac incident onboard. Passengers onboard reported the man’s wife told emergency medical technicians the man had lost his sense of taste and smell in the days prior.
Now United has confirmed that the passenger had COVID-19:
Our flight diverted to New Orleans due to a medical emergency and paramedics transported the passenger to a local hospital where the individual was pronounced deceased. We have been in touch with his family and have extended our sincerest condolences to them for their loss.
At the time of the diversion, we were informed he had suffered a cardiac arrest, so passengers were given the option to take a later flight or continue on with their travel plans. Now that the CDC has contacted us directly, we are sharing requested information with the agency so they can work with local health officials to conduct outreach to any customer the CDC believes may be at risk for possible exposure or infection.
Note, just because the man died with COVID-19 does not mean he died of COVID-19 or that the coronavirus triggered his heart attack. At this time, we only 1.) he had COVID-19 and 2.) he suffered a cardiac incident and could not be revived.
If I had to guess, I’d wager the guy had a weak heart, contracted COVID-19, his family freaked out, and wanted to get him home to California. But he was not prepared for the trip home and died.
In any case, United is not to blame for the incident (the passenger lied in his self-declaration and there is no possible way to police that), though United should have emptied the aircraft and deep cleaned it, if for nothing else than for PR.
CONCLUSION
My condolences to the family who has lost a husband and father, though there is a good chance he would be alive today if they had not selfishly tried to get him home.
Sorry, Matthew, but we are in a highly contagious pandemic. Any death on mass transport should automatically consider Covid as a possible element and should pre-emptively undertake contact tracing and testing. Numerous additional people – including airport and airline employees at the final destination – have now been put at risk in the five days since the incident.
Let a healthcare worker explain something to you all about the Covid – Heart attack connection. Covid creates at least 2 scenarios to stop your heart (pre-existing condition or not). 1) It reduces the amount of Oxygen in your blood stream, when that happens and it goes low enough for long enough, your heart begins to work harder and overtime to make up for the deficit – long enough and it will stop. 2) Covid is not just a respiratory issue. It has also been shown to have a blood clotting behavior – it can send a clot into your heart, up your carotids, or anywhere resulting in an arterial blockage. This can lead to amputations in some patients (White House security chief and the Broadway actor) or it can lead to heart attack and stroke – or even organ failure. Either way, Covid is the cause of death – where in its absence, the person would still be alive or have all their limbs.
I feel for the family but reality is they were selfish and endangered the lives of everyone at the airport, on that plane as well as the medical staff. They lost a loved one which is a tragedy but there should be legal implications for them for what they did to others. People need to understand the consequences of their actions and selfishness.
If they didnt know he had Covid then it’s not the families fault!!! The wife should have had him go to hospital as soon as the man said he he didn’t have taste, or smell..!!!…but then again..she probably didnt know about those symptoms..or did she ?? No one knows but God Knows …
Why tf was he on the plane if he was exhibiting symptoms of the coronavirus disease? I don’t feel sorry – he could have spread it to tens of others!
Maybe they dodnt know !!!!!! You fool !!! Ypu ate no ones judge buddy ♀️
In the middle of a pandemic with loss of taste, cough, and shortness of breath/heavy chest. Hmm. Maybe you should have volunteered to sit next to him. I will be the judge when my health is at risk because of someone else who doesn’t care.
LOL you’re not a doctor and your conclusion is absolutely ridiculous.
I had the flu in 2013 (I was 28 years old) and ended up in the ICU in a coma with heart and lung failure. I wasn’t travelling, was fit, had a 2 year old, and an office job…and BAM almost died.
You make a bold and inaccurate statement that there would be a “good chance” this guy would still be alive if he had selfishly not been trying to get home.
You don’t have the information or the qualifications to make that statement. Not to mention how crass and uncaring your statement is…. basically blaming the family for his death. The guy died, isn’t that enough without a no name “writer” giving his garbage two cents?
You’re a piece of work.
From a medical standpoint, the man who died could have gotten better care from EMTs if he wasnt on a plane when he coded. So I actually agree with Matthew that he had a better chance of being alive if he didn’t get on the plane.
Also, it was reckless and dangerous of him to lie on his covid declaration and endanger others including himself. He didn’t survive his own decision.
The individual was unwell and showed sypmtoms of the virus. The least he could have done was go to a hospital and not put everyone else on the plane and airport at risk.
I am a doctor and his conclusion is reasonable,
Whilst aircraft cabins are pressurised, this is normally to an equivalent of 6000-8000 feet. Thus the partial pressure of oxygen in inspired air and thus in the lungs alveoli, where gas exchange occurs, is significantly reduced.
Even in healthy individuals O2 sats drop to 89-91%. If he had any underlying respiratory compromise (eg covid or pneumonia) then this drop will have had much greater impact starving his tissues of oxygen.
The heart maximally extracts oxygen from the blood so the only real way to increase oxygen supply is to increase blood flow through the coronary vessels. If he had any athersclerosis, clots or narrowing of his arteries this cannot happen thus the heart becomes starved of oxygen and its ability to pump falls.
As the pump begins to fail, the heart cannot supply itself with enough blood and you are caught in a vicious circle leading to myocardial ischaemia and eventually cardiac arrest.
Descending the aircraft can improve things considerably.
However given the time it takes to descend, identify an appropriate airport and land means that his outcome was fixed when he got on that flight
Nice. Loved your methodical explanation.
I hope we start using the correct terminology.
This is the trump pandemic caused by the china virus.
The correct terminology is the Fauci pandemic, Pelosi pandemic caused by the China virus
You are a total idiot. To use the popular far left Dem made up narrative even in jest is false. Take you idol chatter to the next level, maybe try twitter. Propaganda 101 is not your forte.
Not only his very own pandemic but also the biggest cyber hack of the US govt. Both On his watch.
And if you ask why blame him? Besides the fact that he likes to take credit for everything he should also get the blame, these happened after he cut funding for the relevant govt. Agencies. Makes you wonder if he and his band of white Republican males have any redeeming qualities.
But you support him? Maybe you are the one of those that llike getting grabbed by their p%$$y by these grifters.
Well, if past is prologue, don’t hold your breath. The spanish flu started in the USA and has been mistakenly been referred to as of Spanish origin for 100+ years.
Actual doctor, who treats covid patients (and recipient of dose 1 of Pfizer vaccine this week!): Most likely a fatal pulmonary embolism (blood clot in lungs) given the rapidity, clinical presentation, and recent COVID diagnosis. The end result is cardiac arrest. COVID-19 causes significant blood clotting in some patients due to an inflammatory cascade, which is why we discharge some patients (who have elevated signs of clotting in the blood), with blood thinners for 2-4 weeks. I just treated a patient who recovered from COVID pneumonia without seeking any treatment, but came in because one of her legs was swollen — found a blood clot, likely due to COVID, successfully treated with blood thinners. Couple this with flying, recipe for sudden death due to pulmonary embolism.
*Wiggles up above is trying to figure out how to delete his post lol