Wuhan coronavirus: Instagrammer James Potok arrested after plane prank - Business Insider

A YouTuber who forced a plane to make an emergency landing after joking that he could have the deadly coronavirus says he was trying to get a viral video and has apologized for interrupting passengers' journeys.WestJet Flight 2702 from Toronto to Montego Bay, Jamaica, turned around about two hours into the flight on Monday and returned to Pearson International Airport after James Potok joked on board that he had traveled to the region of China where the virus originated, where hundreds of people have died and millions are quarantined.In an interview with Canada's Global News, Potok said: "I stood up, I said, 'Can I have everybody's attention, I just came back from Hunan province.' And that was it."He told Toronto's City News that he had announced: "I just came back from Hunan province, the capital of the coronavirus…I'm not feeling too well. About 700 people cases of infection have been confirmed in Hunan.Potok said the airline staff then put him in a mask and gloves.Another passenger on board, Julie-Anne Broderick, wrote on Facebook that her flight returned "because SOME IDIOT pretended he had the Coronavirus to post on YouTube."The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation said 243 people were on board.Video shared on social media showed Potok being taken off the plane:WestJet said in a statement that the flight crew had followed infectious-disease protocols "out of an abundance of caution" and that the flight was diverted because of an "unruly guest," CBC reported.Ontario's Peel Regional Police said in a statement that Potok's announcement "was shared with the flight crew and a decision was made to return the flight to Pearson Airport," CBC reported.They said Potok was inspected medically and was found to be free of symptoms.