Authorities quarantined an arriving US Airways flight for several hours Friday at Charlotte-Douglas International Airport after a passenger claimed he had smallpox, but health officials said there was no evidence of disease.
US Airways said there were 112 passengers and four crew members aboard Flight 1014, which landed around 3:30 p.m. from New Orleans. The quarantine lasted until a little after 7 p.m., when county health authorities established the threat was false.
The man was examined at Carolinas Medical Center in Charlotte, where doctors determined he was fine.
"No tests were done on the patient because the doctors who examined him did not feel it was necessary," said Dr. Stephen Keener, medical director for the Mecklenburg County Health Department.
"There was no clinical evidence he had smallpox. There was no information that any kind of release occurred on board the aircraft, so the passengers and equipment were released."
Michelle Mohr, a spokeswoman for US Airways, said the airline was working to accomodate passengers and may put some in hotels for the night. She also said the plane was cleaned and would be put back into service on Saturday.
The last natural case of smallpox occurred in 1977 in Somalia, and the World Health Organization reported in 1980 it had been eradicated.
Keener and US Airways spokesman Morgan Durrant said they could not confirm reports that the passenger was intoxicated.
Charlotte-Mecklenburg police spokeswoman Julie Hill said no decision had been made on whether to file charges on the man, whose condition was still being evaluated Friday night. She said the matter may fall under the authority of the U.S. Transportation Security Administration.
Despite the lack of current cases of smallpox, the federal government ordered certain military personnel vaccinated and recommended shots for front-line health care workers following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.