Covid 19 coronavirus: United Airlines passenger dies amid claims he lied about symptoms

A passenger who jumped out of his seat mid-flight to help a dying man with Covid-19 symptoms has spoken about the incident, saying he would not hesitate to do it again.

Tony Aldapa, who works as a paramedic, recounted the moment he realised the man, who had reportedly hidden his symptoms of Covid-19 from the airline before boarding the flight, had collapsed.

Aldapa has since come down with Covid-19 symptoms himself, after trying to help the man who ended up dying hours after he collapsed on the flight.

"I knew the risks involved in performing CPR on someone that potentially has Covid, but I made the choice to do so anyways," Aldapa wrote on Twitter.

"Knowing I had the knowledge, training and experience to help out, I could not have sat idly by and watched someone die," he added.

By now most of you know I was on the @united flight that has been in the news. I made the decision to attempt to save the passengers life and along with 2 others performed CPR for close to an hour until we landed. And continued to help the firefighters when they came onboard.

— Face (@Face_withaQ) December 19, 2020

According to the paramedic, he and two others performed CPR on the man for almost an hour during a flight from Orlando to Los Angeles last week.

The man reportedly began shaking then lost consciousness during the flight. Aldapa and two others "tag-teamed" doing chest compressions on the man.

Rather than performing mouth-to-mouth, a compressible oxygen bag attached to a mask was used to attempted to get the dying man to regain consciousness.

Aldapa says he spoke to the passenger's wife and she admitted that her husband was scheduled to get a coronavirus test done in LA after losing his sense of taste and smell.

The man reportedly told airline staff pre-boarding that he had no Covid symptoms.

"I spent the remainder of the flight covered in my own sweat and in that man's urine," Aldapa wrote.

Looking back I would not change my actions, but I may have stepped up earlier. Knowing I had the knowledge, training and experience to help out, I could not have sat idly by and watched someone die.

— Face (@Face_withaQ) December 19, 2020

The plan made an emergency landing in New Orleans and the man was taken to hospital, where he died a while later.

Speaking of his own Covid symptoms now, Aldapa told CBS LA he feels like he "got hit by a train".

"I had a cough, my whole body still hurt, I had a headache," he added.

United Airlines has said it is awaiting more information about what led to the man's death, after being initially informed he had suffered a cardiac arrest mid-flight.

"We are sharing requested information with the (CDC) 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," the airline said.