Posted on 03/18/2020 3:40:20 PM PDT by nickcarraway
An American Airlines flight from Dallas to Nashville took over eight hours to take off and was delayed three times after a man reportedly joked about having coronavirus.
Flight #1076 to Nashville was set to depart around 6:30 p.m. and arrive at 8:40 p.m. Saturday but did not finally arrive at BNA until 4:40 a.m. Sunday. The man, who has not been identified, reportedly wouldnt lift his tray table up before the plane took off at which point he claimed he had coronavirus.
People were freaked out because nobody knew what was going on, said passenger Brandon Kenney, People didnt know if he was actually sick or if he really didnt have coronavirus or not.
The situation understandably was taken very seriously. HAZMAT crews and police officers boarded the plane and had the man removed.
Passengers were reportedly panicked after seeing HAZMAT on the plane. Police told a passenger we spoke with that the man wasnt all there.
Right after he was escorted off the plane, one of the cops came back and kind of explained the situation to the people that were sitting near him and kind of spelled it out for us and told us not to worry about it and really was just talking about how he was joking about having the coronavirus, said Kenney.
Panic soon turned to frustration for passengers of the plane as part of the flight crew did not want to fly after the incident. Crew issues and maintenance issues led to further delays, all totaling about eight hours. The man who created the initial havoc was arrested.
Airports are working to try to stop the spread and are a very big concern right now. Officials say the biggest concerns are social distancing and planes being an issue because social distancing cannot be done on them.
Dallas-Fort Worth Airport is one of 13 airports that Americans who are coming back after visiting restricted countries are being flown into so they can be tested for coronavirus.
Officials say you should wash your hands and avoid touching your face and take all necessary precautions to help prevent the spread of coronavirus.
American Airlines acknowledged that the passenger was arrested for making a false claim. We reached out for further information, and we are still waiting to hear back.
Most patients with COVID-19 have a mild respiratory illness including fever, cough and shortness of breath. The Tennessee Department of Health strongly encourages Tennesseans to wash your hands often with soap and water and to not touch your eyes, nose or mouth with unwashed hands.
The CDC recommends that for the next 8 weeks, organizers (whether groups or individuals) cancel or postpone in-person events that consist of 50 people or more throughout the United States.
High-risk individuals are defined as adults over 60 years old or people of any age with serious chronic medical conditions such as: Heart disease, diabetes, or lung disease.
The Tennessee Department of Health offers a COVID-19 Public Information Line at 877-857-2945, with information available daily from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Central Time.
"the term domestic terrorism means activities that involve acts dangerous to human life that are a violation of the criminal laws of the United States or of any State; appear to be intendedto intimidate or coerce a civilian population;
Threatening to infect a plane load of innocent civilians with a deadly disease falls within the definition. Let him polish his comedy act in federal prison.
If he had physically hurt someone it would have been battery. If he tried to harm someone it would have been assault. He was just trying to terrorize people.
I understand it could have been interpreted as a threat.
I was arguing that taking him out and executing him on the tarmac and leaving his body as a warning us way, way, way over the top.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.