Ebola Scare Prompts American Airlines Emergency Landing

Ebola scare prompted an American Airlines flight to make an unscheduled landing at Tulsa International airport, Oklahoma, on October 18.

The flight was on its way from Hartford, Connecticut to Dallas, Texas, when a passenger became sick midair. The plane was then diverted to Tulsa where fire and HAZMAT response teams were put on alert. According to Bennie E. Herring, Tulsa Fire Department battalion chief, “We had a conversation, we believe, between the pilots and the tower, and somewhere in that conversation the word Ebola was said, or Ebola like symptoms.”

The plane landed safely. The emergency crews asked the passengers to wait while they ruled out Ebola and determined that the passenger’s illness was due to complications from a previous surgery.

The flight later resumed its journey.