Plane Grounded in Emergency Landing After Passengers Spot Lice Crawling in Woman's Hair Mid-Flight (Exclusive)

• Ethan Judelson took to TikTok to share how his flight from LA to New York was diverted to Phoenix due to a medical emergency, which he later learned was an ear infection
• In his viral video, Judelson said the airline did not inform passengers of the details of the incident, but fellow fliers claimed people saw lice crawling in someone’s hair and notified the flight crew.
• American Airlines told PEOPLE that a June flight from LA to New York was diverted to Phoenix “due to a client’s medical needs,” but did not confirm whether it was due to an ear infection

The flight crew could hardly wait to get off the plane to New York when they discovered that someone on the plane was infected with lice.

TikTok creator Ethan Judelson, 28, made a video detailing how his flight from Los Angeles was diverted to Phoenix for an emergency landing. As he explained in his recap — which reached more than 1.2 million TikTok viewers — Judelson says American Airlines shared minimal information about why they had to land long before they reached the East Coast.

“I look around, nobody’s on the ground, nobody’s panicking. I mean, it can’t be that bad,” he explained in his two-minute account. “But we land, and as soon as we land, this woman across from me shoots and runs into the front of the plane.”

Speaking to PEOPLE about a month after the incident, Judelson said he and his seatmate dismissed the woman’s urgency as impatient passenger behavior.

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“He seemed like one of those people who, as soon as the seat belt signal comes on, gets up and tries to get to his bag first,” he recalls. “So the girl next to me … we both said, ‘Why is she in such a hurry to get off? We’re all getting off together, calm down.’ ”

He went on to say that the flight team assured everyone that they would learn more about the situation after landing. But Judelson says the only thing they learned at the gate was that their flight to New York would leave in 12 hours.

In a statement released to PEOPLE, an American Airlines spokesperson says, “On June 15, American Airlines Flight 2201 from Los Angeles (LAX) to New York (JFK) was diverted to Phoenix (PHX) due to a customer’s medical needs.”

“As soon as we land in Phoenix, we all get an email that says, ‘Here’s your hotel voucher.’ And we’re like, ‘Hotel, are we staying here?’ Judelson says, adding that American Airlines gave him $12 in spending money.

While the passenger’s knowledge of the incident was limited, Judelson noted on TikTok how the two women gave “cryptic” answers when asked about the incident.

“They were like, ‘Let’s just say it was in the best interest of everyone here that they did this. It’s for the safety of the plane,'” says the California resident, who works as an executive assistant on the TV show.

A picture of people waiting to board a plane.

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Judelson tells PEOPLE he found out “by word of mouth” the next day. While waiting in line for TSA, he overheard another group of passengers discussing the reason for landing in Phoenix: popping ears. Judelson confirmed that he heard their conclusion correctly when he ran into those same travelers while buying a protein bar.

“I wasn’t sure and I didn’t want to say anything at TSA,” he says. “I heard them talking about it again, and then I tapped them on the shoulder and said, ‘Did you say ears?’ ”

They informed Judelson that their flight had indeed been prevented by lice and explained what they knew of the situation. They claimed that the women who cryptically avoided questions at the door were seated next to a person who had hurried off the previous day.

Picture of passengers trying to get out of a passing plane.

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“Allegedly, the two girls saw bugs crawling out of the woman’s hair … and alerted the flight attendant,” Judelson said in his video, recalling what fellow fliers told him.

When everyone re-boarded, Judelson wasn’t sure who knew about the ears and who was still in the dark, because he says American Airlines didn’t issue a statement during their 12-hour layover in Arizona. However, the passengers were assigned the same seats, causing a big scene when the two women returned to the place where they first saw the lice.

“They wouldn’t sit in that seat,” the TikToker tells PEOPLE.

Categories: Trends
Source: HIS Education