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A passenger of the United Airlines who died during flight was suspected of having COVID-19. The male passenger allegedly lied about his COVID-19 symptoms during the pre-flight.

United Airlines believed that the man lied when he asked at check-in if he had experienced any COVID-19 symptoms. Passengers of the plane also said that they observed the man had difficulty breathing before the plane took off from Florida to Los Angeles.

Man's wife reveals his tell-tale symptoms

According to Daily Mail, the man was seen on the plane shaking and sweating and having a hard time breathing even before the flight took off. However, the man's condition deteriorated rapidly when United Flight 591 was in the air. 

The captain then decided to perform an emergency landing in order for the man to receive medical attention. The report also said that the man who was sitting in seat 28D stopped breathing just an hour into the flight.

The wife of the man revealed within earshot to another traveler that her husband has been showing COVID-19 symptoms for the past week before their scheduled flight. She said that her husband lost his sense of taste and smell, but he failed to mention this during their pre-flight inquiry. 

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Trained professionals risk their life to save the man

Luckily, there were three trained professionals who did CPR on the man, according to New York Post. The passenger was laid out in the aisle of the United Boeing 737-900 while the three professionals administered CPR for almost an hour before the plane landed in New Orleans. 

Despite the risk of COVID-19, the fellow passengers still took the time and effort to perform CPR on the man. A footage of the incident was shared online, which gained divided reactions from many people.

Forbes reported that the plane's original destination was Los Angeles, but the captain decided to divert to New Orleans so that the man can get the medical attention he needs.

Additionally, medics from the New Orleans fire department attempted to save the man as they were allowed on board when the plane landed. Some shared the details of the CPR and said the man's bones could be heard to crack as chest compressions were carried out before he started turning blue.

He was immediately rushed to a hospital when they arrived in New Orleans, but he later died.

Tony Aldapa, who was one of the selfless passengers on board who helped perform chest compressions, said, "There was no mouth-to-mouth at all. We were doing chest compressions and they had him on the oxygen mask from the plane, then once we had a medical bag that is kept onboard we used an Ambu-bag which is a bag that you squeeze to give breaths, that's what we used for breathing."

He also shared that the three of them did the chest compressions for almost an hour and were able to stay in the aisle while the plane touched down.

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