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Flight quarantined over pox threat was hoax

An airline passenger who claimed he had smallpox wasn't telling the truth.
/ Source: The Associated Press

An airline passenger who claimed he had smallpox wasn't telling the truth.

But health officials in North Carolina, weren't taking any chances. They quarantined a U-S Airways jet with 116 people aboard for several hours Friday when it arrived at Charlotte-Douglas International Airport from New Orleans.

The plane landed around 3:30 p-m Eastern and was cleared around 7 p-m, when officials confirmed the threat was false. The man was checked for small pox at a local hospital. No evidence of the disease was found.

A police spokeswoman says no decision has been made on whether to charge the man, whose condition is still being evaluated.