A 28-year-old Canadian man has apologized after faking a case of the coronavirus for a viral video and causing a plane to abort its planned flight.
James Potok apologized for the prank Tuesday in an interview with Canada’s Global News.
“Well, I had my camera with me. I was looking to get a viral video. I was looking to get it up on all the social media platforms,” Potok said. “It seemed to me like this was in poor taste, in retrospect. What I did, I stood up; I said, ‘Can I have everybody’s attention? I just came back from Hunan province — and that was it.”
Potok pulled the stunt while on board WestJet said Flight 2702 traveling from Toronto to Jamaica. Potok made his fake announcement in the middle of the flight, forcing the plane to turn around and land back in Toronto.
Another passenger recounted the incident, saying Potok had claimed he had just returned from Wuhan, China, the “epicentre for the coronavirus,” and said people should stay away from him because he was feeling “really, really sick.”
“I figured it would invoke some type of reaction, not on the plane. More, people seeing on social media, going, ‘Wow, this kid’s got some balls,’ or, ‘This kid is crazy,'” Potok said. “In the end, I ruined the people on the plane’s trip, so I’m extremely apologetic.”
Potok has been ordered to appear in court on March 9 for the incident.
The coronavirus is a mysterious disease that broke out in Wuhan, China, last month. The disease has killed over 500 people and infected ten of thousands more across roughly two dozen countries.
