A United passenger says she was finishing her book as the plane taxied when the man behind her ‘turns into the woman from The Exorcist’

An Instagram and TikTok creator found herself covered in vomit during a United Airlines flight from Kansas City to Chicago. The fitness trainer, known as Elana (eeelahnah), said the incident occurred after the plane had landed and was taxiing at O’Hare airport. Elana shared that she had been close to finishing a book when everything happened.

In her video, she told her audience, “Man sitting in the row behind me, in the middle seat, hears that it’s Halloween time, turns into the woman from The Exorcist, and projectile vomits up into the air. And of course, some gets on me.” She said it got on her Kindle screen and Gymshark sweatpants. She questioned how he did not know he was going to throw up, or why he hadn’t reached for a barf bag. She also wondered why she was the only person freaking out.

Elana said that everyone else was comforting him, but she disagreed, saying, “Even the babies have a decency of throwing up on their mother’s shoulder.” She was so fired up, she stated, “We need to walk him up and down the aisles, and we need to Game of Thrones ‘shame’ him.” Since the plane was still taxiing, they couldn’t get up. However, Elana said that the crew eventually came with wet wipes and told the man to clean up after himself.

Elana’s viewers were incredibly grossed out

One user sympathized and dramatically wrote, “The way I would have passed away if this happened to me.” Another person shared that they have a disorder where they wake up from sleep and throw up immediately, but noted that even though it has happened hundreds of times, they never threw up on their ex. They had a message for the passenger: “Swallow it, sir.”

A different commenter admitted that Elana’s experience was “MY BIGGEST FEAR IN LIFE,” while another said, “Oh I would be ON THE NEWS.” One person joked, “At least he didn’t spoil the ending of the book.”

Handling vomit is a serious matter because of the potential for spreading germs from quick-onset illnesses such as norovirus. According to Northern Nevada Public Health, it is important to clear the area within a 25-foot radius and ensure people wash their hands right away. The clean-up process involves wearing protective gear like gloves and masks, wiping up the material with paper towels, and avoiding vacuums.

NNPH noted that surfaces should be washed with soapy water and then disinfected using a chlorine bleach solution. Then any clothes should be machine washed and dried on the hottest and longest setting. One woman recently said a Cancun resort buffet trip left her whole family in bed for days.

In her caption, Elana tagged United and jokingly noted that she wanted to be compensated with $175 and maybe some miles because that is how much it cost at the doctor where she “burst into tears.”