Vomiting Passenger Dies on Flight from Nigeria to New York's JFK

A passenger on a flight from Nigeria headed to New York’s JFK airport died in flight after vomiting in his seat Thursday, causing panic on board and on the ground and spurring a Congressman to demand changes in U.S. Ebola protocols.

The unnamed 63-year-old passenger from Lagos, Nigeria began vomiting during the flight and then died before arriving at JFK but was pronounced free of Ebola by a “cursory” exam upon landing.

The incident caused New York Congressman Peter King to worry that the airport has major vulnerabilities from Ebola. In a letter to the Department of Homeland Security, King demanded that authorities initiate more training and improve Ebola protocols.

King was critical of the way the dead man was handled.

“It was what I was told a cursory examination. The Port Authority cops and personnel from Customs and Border Protection were there, and they were told there was no danger because the person did not have Ebola,” the Congressman said.

“But their concern was, how could you tell so quickly? And what adds to the concern is how wrong the CDC has been over the past few weeks,” he added.

King’s letter demanded that DHS beef up protocols and improve equipment and training for those Port Authority Police and Customs Agents that most come in contact with passengers.

Follow Warner Todd Huston on Twitter @warnerthuston or email the author at igcolonel@hotmail.com.