Airtransat Emergency Landing

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margaret

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Aug 9, 2006
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An Air Transat flight from the Dominican Republic to Edmonton, Alberta Canada had to make an emergency landing in Florida this morning when eight members of the same family all became sick on board. The plane was quarantined, the Centre for Disease Control was called in. They're all members of the same family apparently and in hospital with food poisoning.
 
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planner

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Saw it on Fox News this morning too. I wonder when we will hear more?
 
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margaret

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Aug 9, 2006
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planner said:
Saw it on Fox News this morning too. I wonder when we will hear more?
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They're all been discharged from the hospital now and apparently they were all family members or travelling together and ate something prior to bordering.

CTV.ca | Sick Air Transat passengers out of hospital

It's good to hear that Air Transat was on top of everything and that Medlink, the CDC and the airport authority in Florida acted so promptly.

Thank goodness everyone is okay. I guess we'll hear eventually where they ate and the DR health authorities will investigate at the airport or where ever they had their last meal.

I'm sure it must cost a lot to divert the plane, clear for landing, quarantine and then perhaps compensate all the passengers for the delay who were complaining about heat and lack of water etc. during their confinement.

I received $168. credit from Westjet for my 6 hour delay due to mechanical problems with a plane in Montreal destined for POP where I was waiting. They paid for my last meal. I know where I'm going with that $168!!! :)
 
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Lapurr

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Jan 25, 2008
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Yikes that's terrible, can you imagine all 8 sick at the same time?? how many washrooms on a plane?? and the side effects of food poisoning are terrible. the chills, the aches, the stomach pain and to top it off non stop vomiting and ugh!! goes on and on..
poor family...I fly air Transat all the time and its reassuring to know they take such measures for ones safety.. however were there any signs of the family falling ill prior to departure?
 
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margaret

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Aug 9, 2006
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This story is getting more bizarre by minute! Now one of the relatives is suggesting that they might have been drugged. Of course the press (Canada Press) jumps on it and runs with it. Apparently one family member was showing signs of illness prior to departure in Santo Domingo. I'm sure there will be medical results that will show the actual cause.

CANOE -- CNEWS - Canada: Were Air Transat passengers drugged?
 
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Lapurr

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Jan 25, 2008
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Oh Lord!! Why would anyone want to Drug them?? and if they were drugged, it couldn't spread about the family by touch.

Hopefully it was just something they ate that didn't agree with them, I highly doubt it was food poisoning, because that can get extremely severe and nasty as well and can last weeks, sounds to me like a 24 hr stomach flu.

Next this you know Canada will be looking for a little Monkey the tourists took pictures with on the beach!
 
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lexi

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Jan 23, 2007
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I live in Edmonton and this story was just on the news here. They said they stopped in Florida and the sick pepole were taken to hospital. Once they knew it wasn't an airborne illness the flight continued on to Edmonton. It was a family that was sick and some of their family members were just talking on the news that all of the sick people had been drinking the day they left. The doctors did tests and said they found traces of the Date rate drug THB? in their systems.

It doesn't matter what country you are in this can happen! A girl that works for me said this just happened to her on New Year's Eve and fortunately her friends noticed she was acting weird and out of it after only 2 drinks and took her home. It could have been a worse story.
 
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Rocky

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lexi said:
I live in Edmonton and this story was just on the news here. They said they stopped in Florida and the sick pepole were taken to hospital. Once they knew it wasn't an airborne illness the flight continued on to Edmonton. It was a family that was sick and some of their family members were just talking on the news that all of the sick people had been drinking the day they left. The doctors did tests and said they found traces of the Date rate drug THB? in their systems.

It doesn't matter what country you are in this can happen! A girl that works for me said this just happened to her on New Year's Eve and fortunately her friends noticed she was acting weird and out of it after only 2 drinks and took her home. It could have been a worse story.
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I can't even start to imagine how an entire family of 8 would be given beverages spiked with a date rape drug, early in the day before their flight home.
Seems totally absurd.
 
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tflea

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Jun 11, 2006
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Canadian Press

Canadian Press seems to be way outta control.
Most of what I've read lately regarding the DR from Canada is complete crap.
Stories long on b.s. and short on facts. If I were Canadian I wouldn't take any of it to heart.
 
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Lapurr

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Jan 25, 2008
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It was all over the news here in Calgary too, they said food poisoning-hmmmm...well at least they are alright, but the press has got to tone it down a notch, i feel terrible for those passengers with small children tho, 17 hrs on a plane and not allowed to get off in Florida, that's a little excissive, with limited food and drink.
 
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lexi

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I am not sure who the family member was that stayed on the flight and talked to the press at the airport but he is the one who said they were all drinking together. Actually what he said was - they all drank the same alcoholic drinks - the same drinks and they all had exactly the same amount to drink.
He did say they drank a lot!
 
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KateP

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I may be jumping to conclusions and am by no means an expert on the subject but isn't there a type of drug (Escopolamina??) that comes from a plant and can affect people through touch? From what I read, the effects are similar to a panic attack. I received an email a few days ago from a friend who was affected very similarly at Acropolis in SD and they determined that it was due to that drug. Anyone know anything about it?
 
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lexi

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I am repeating what the family member said on the Edmonton news. I do not know about the children.
Were there actually chikdren affected? It didn't seem that way from the broadcast here.
 
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margaret

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KateP said:
I may be jumping to conclusions and am by no means an expert on the subject but isn't there a type of drug (Escopolamina??) that comes from a plant and can affect people through touch? From what I read, the effects are similar to a panic attack. I received an email a few days ago from a friend who was affected very similarly at Acropolis in SD and they determined that it was due to that drug. Anyone know anything about it?
Click to expand...

Here's a link on that drug you mentioned: Escopolamine.

Scopolamine: "Zombie drug" and astronaut anti-puke helper - Boing Boing
Note: that it's also an ingredient in an anti-nausea medication.

But the CTV story mentioned a trace of GHB identified by the hospital in the young female who was sick and appeared drunk at the resort prior to departure. One of the passengers commented that they overheard the family talking about the date rape drug.

Gamma-Hydroxybutyric acid - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Who knows if a drink was spiked.
 
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