Video has emerged from the ill-fated United Airlines flight in which a man suffering from COVID-19 died in-flight.
Watch: Video Emerges Of Good Samaritan Administering CPR To Dying COVID-19 Passenger On United Flight
Live and Let’s Fly was one of the first outlets to cover this incident, long before it gained attention by the mainstream media. UA591, traveling from Orlando to Los Angeles on December 14th, diverted to New Orleans after a passenger fell ill onboard.
Although originally blamed on a cardiac episode, it was later discovered that the elderly passenger died with COVID-19 and had knowingly lied on his health self-declaration form required during check-in.
Passengers have shared that the man appeared morbid while boarding and suffered the episode shortly after takeoff. TMZ has obtained video showing a Good Samaritan onboard, EMT Tony Aldapa, administering CPR to the man:
More passenger testimony has emerged and it appears that the woman told those around her that her husband was suffering from COVID-19 but they still elected to fly.
It has also emerged that United did give passengers the option to step off the flight in Orlando and be rebooked to Los Angeles (indirectly, since United no longer serves New Orleans nonstop from its Los Angeles hub). United has taken heat for simply using wipes to wipe down the seat of the deceased passenger instead of deep-cleaning the aircraft.
CONCLUSION
Video reveals a tense scene onboard in which an EMT willingly risked his own health and safety in an effort to save the life of a foolish and irresponsible man. Kudos to Aldapa for his brave work. He will be profiled in a future post on Live and Let’s Fly.
Will be interesting to see if anyone, or how many, contract Covid that were on this flight. If none do it will really be a testament to the safety of flying.
And for those flight attendants that scream that they deserve $100K a year because, “We are like first responders,” please take a look at a real first responder on a plane, stepping in to do the actual work. Oh, and I bet he makes about $40K a year
EMT here, kindly refrain from using us to belittle someone else’s profession, thanks.
Fine, I’ll leave that to the flight attendants who do all the time in these blogs. You can come and defend yourself to them directly. Instead of my doing it for you.
Interesting to see? OK, you’ve got it. One of the EMTs is now sick with Covid-like symptoms. https://viewfromthewing.com/video-from-onboard-united-591-where-a-man-with-covid-19-died-last-week/?utm_source=BoardingArea&utm_medium=BoardingArea
Yeah, if confirmed this is really sad. And shows what they do and sacrifice when called upon.
Oh, and sorry you took my statement to be less than empathetic. Next time I will add heart emojis if that’s what makes you feel better?
Sorry, instead of “interesting to see”, I meant your “testament to the safety of flying”.
The new strain in the UK is supposed to be much easier to catch so this is bad news. It is not known how effective the two new vaccines are against this strain.
@derek
Go check out View From the Wing’s explanation on the new strain in the UK. It’s actually quite good. Easier transmission doesn’t necessarily equate to worse outcomes.
Yes it does. Easier transmission means more people will get sick. That means likely more lung transplants, more deaths. If the old variant needed two coughs in your face, maybe now only one is needed. Or before needed 10 minutes of heavy breathing, now 7 minutes.
One British report is estimating that it’s 70% more transmittable. Whatever it is, many countries are slamming the door on the UK, including Canada, Netherlands, Austria, Italy, Ireland, etc.
Easier to catch and sightly less lethal is a really bad combination. If you think about it, a virus that is very lethal (or hard to catch) won’t spread very far, because people will die before it can spread.
Matthew, I have got to say I enjoy most of your articles but using the term “ill-fated” in this headline was a little dramatic.
John, I know I can be guilty of clickbait, but the man died. Isn’t it appropriate in this context?
While I tend to think of “ill-fated” in a completely different context, I guess the wording comes down to a matter of preference.
You mean crash? I suppose, but I really wasn’t looking for clickbait for this particular article.
One thing this points out is the uselessness of these health screening forms that have become so common.