New video footage surfaced showing passengers desperately trying to save the life of a man who died of COVID-19 on a United Airlines flight last week, revealing that they have not yet been contacted by health officials nine days after the ordeal.
Isaias Hernandez, 69, died of coronavirus and acute respiratory failure on December 14, while traveling from Orlando to Los Angeles on AU flight 591, a coroner confirmed on Tuesday.
Hernandez, who was from Los Angeles, had a cardiac arrest mid-flight and died in a Louisiana hospital after the plane made an emergency landing in New Orleans.
A new video of the incident shared on Wednesday shows other passengers risking catching the virus while doing CPR desperately in Hernandez for about 45 minutes.
Passenger Steven Chang, who was one of three CPR-trained professionals on board, was filmed giving the man chest compressions while he was lying in the aisle of the Boeing 737-900 in sight of other concerned travelers.
According to TMZ, Chang developed symptoms since the flight, but was negative for the virus.
Scroll down to see the video
The video shared on Wednesday shows passenger Steven Chang performing CPR on Isaias Hernandez, 69, who died of COVID-19 on a United flight from Orlando to Los Angeles on December 14
Chang was one of three CPR trained passengers on board who tried to save Hernandez’s life by performing
It comes after another passenger, Tony Aldapa, a paramedic who also helped to carry out Hernandez’s rescue procedure, revealed that he also started showing symptoms of COVID-19.
But none of the men – nor any of the other passengers nearby – have been contacted by the CDC since then, despite the health authority saying they would work with local health officials to reach those who may be at risk of possible exposure or infection.
Tony Aldapa was filmed desperately performing CPR for 45 minutes on a passenger who had fallen unconscious on the United flight last week. He says he has had symptoms since the flight
United Airlines said it is not responsible for seeking health advice and confirmed that it had already provided the names of all 179 passengers to the CDC.
In a statement to DailyMail.com, the CDC said it had sent passengers’ contact information to state and local health departments where they live for public health monitoring and contact tracking.
A spokesman also referred to the CDC website in the process, which explains how these agencies then ‘try to locate these passengers and inform them about their exposure and what to do’.
But why these agencies have not yet contacted passengers is unclear.
United Airlines also faced reaction from passengers who questioned how Hernandez was allowed to board after experiencing symptoms of the virus.
Some said that Hernandez’s wife was also heard on the flight saying that he had lost his taste and smell.
TMZ reports that a spokesman told the media that they were not medical professionals and that it is up to the CDC to contact those who may have been exposed.
Aldapa told CBS he feels as if he has been ‘hit by a train’ after developing the symptoms.
Aldapa was among the three passengers who helped perform CPR on the 69-year-old man during the flight. They are seen above in another video of the incident
Aldapa, who is a veteran of the U.S. Navy, said the man’s wife later told him that her husband was suffering from symptoms of COVID-19 before boarding the flight.
‘I had a cough, my whole body still hurts, I had a headache,’ he told the news station on Tuesday.
He was scheduled to receive the COVID-19 vaccine on Friday, as he is an essential health professional, but is now in quarantine, awaiting the results of his coronavirus test.
Aldapa, who is a veteran of the United States Navy, said the man’s wife later told him that her husband was suffering from symptoms of COVID-19 before boarding the plane.
“She told me he had symptoms, he was short of breath and she just wanted to take him home and they planned to get tested this week,” said Aldapa.
Aldapa said he did not give word of mouth when he was giving CPR.
Before boarding a flight, passengers are asked if the COVID-19 test was positive or if they have any symptoms.
Since then, United said the man recognized the pandemic health checklist “ready to fly” before boarding.
Aldapa said he knew the risks when he started CPR, but that his training started and he would do it again if necessary.
“It was kind of second nature to see someone in a bad place, you try to get them out of the bad place,” said Aldapa.
‘There were three of us who were basically doing chest compressions, probably about 45 minutes.’
Aldapa, as well as another paramedic and an ICU nurse, helped to give the man during the flight.
Images filmed by other passengers showed the trio giving chest compressions to the man in the corridor after he stopped breathing about an hour after the flight started.
Passengers say the man was seen on the plane shaking and sweating and having trouble breathing before the flight even took off.
As soon as the plane landed, New Orleans fire department doctors boarded the flight and the man was rushed to a nearby hospital.
The flight continued to Los Angeles shortly thereafter.
Aldapa said that United contacted him several days ago to say that it was providing the CDC with information about the passengers on the flight.
United said it was asked by the CDC to provide a passenger list so that the agency could work with local health officials in tracking contacts.
“We are sharing the requested information with (CDC) so that they can work with local health authorities to conduct an approach to any client that the CDC believes is at risk of possible exposure or infection,” United said in a statement.
Aldapa said the CDC has not yet contacted him regarding the search for contacts, despite the coroner’s office revealing that the man’s cause of death was related to COVID-19.
In a statement, the CDC said they were ‘in the process of collecting information and proceeding according to our standard operating procedures to determine whether other public health actions are appropriate.
“To protect the privacy of the individual, we are not providing this information to the public.”
Other passengers on board also said that the CDC has not yet contacted them.