Minneapolis-bound flight held until sick passenger cleared SAN FRANCISCO (AP) ? The departure of a Northwest Airlines flight bound for Minneapolis-St. Paul was delayed for about two hours Thursday while federal health officials examined and then cleared a passenger who was exhibiting some symptoms of SARS. The plane was on the tarmac when the passenger's symptoms prompted the crew to return to the gate to have him checked out. The unidentified man in his 50s was evaluated by the U.S. Public Health Service, a branch of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which ruled out the illness in his case. The other 170 passengers on Flight 360 were held on the plane during his exam, said Mary Stanik, a spokeswoman for the airline based in the Twin Cities suburb of Eagan. "The CDC has cleared the aircraft and the passenger. It's definitely not SARS-related. The passenger has been released for further travel," Stanik said. "Looks like it ended well." Still, the man did not get back on the flight, and was instead taken to San Mateo Medical Center, where he was being examined Thursday afternoon, according to Beverly Thames, a hospital spokeswoman. The man was returning from the Philippines with his wife and son, according to airport spokesman Mike McCarron. The hospital did not release any details about the man's symptoms, or when he was expected to be released. John Stiff, 36, of Rochester, Minn., said the ill passenger was sitting two rows in front of him and notified the flight crew that he felt sick just as the airliner was pulling away from the gate. The crew asked if a doctor or paramedic was aboard, and a firefighter among the passengers examined the ill man, who did not want to leave the flight. "He was pretty insistent about not getting off the plane," Stiff said after the plane landed Thursday evening in Minneapolis. *************************************************** The owner of Roger's Trinbago Site/TnTisland.com Roj (Roger James) escape email mailto:ejames@xxxxxxxxx Trinbago site: www.tntisland.com Carib Brass Ctn site www.tntisland.com/caribbeanbrassconnection/ Steel Expressions www.mts.net/~ejames/se/ Site of the Week: http://www.pscutt.com TnT Webdirectory: http://search.co.tt *********************************************************