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Woman's 'Flu-Like Symptoms' Divert Plane To Boston

A female passenger, far left, wears a mask as she is accompanied down the steps of a United Airlines jetliner to a waiting ambulance at Logan international Airport in Boston on Friday. (AP Photo)
A female passenger, far left, wears a mask as she is accompanied down the steps of a United Airlines jet to a waiting ambulance at Logan International Airport in Boston on Friday. (AP Photo)

Logan Airport officials say United Flight 903 continued on to Washington, D.C., Friday afternoon after being briefly diverted to Boston because a female passenger complained of flu-like symptoms.

Medical personnel and officials from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention boarded the airplane and took the 53-year-old woman off the flight. She was then taken by medical personnel to Massachusetts General Hospital, where she has been checked in.

CDC officials notified passengers why the flight had been diverted. Pamphlets with the title, "You May Have Been Exposed to Swine Flu During Your Travels", were handed out to every passenger. The pamphlet, published April 2009, listed swine flu symptoms and health department contact information.

There were 245 passengers and 16 crew members on board the flight from Munich, Germany.

Foreign and U.S. contact information was collected from every passenger as well.

Airport spokesman Phil Orlandella said the plane's captain made the decision to stop as a precaution, after the passenger told flight attendants about her symptoms.

United spokesman Rahsaan Johnson said the pilot landed in Boston on the advice of the CDC.

Television footage showed a woman being led from the plane by emergency workers to a waiting ambulance. It isn't yet clear what caused the woman's symptoms or whether she might be suffering from swine flu.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

This program aired on May 1, 2009. The audio for this program is not available.

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Meghna Chakrabarti Host, On Point
Meghna Chakrabarti is the host of On Point.

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