Watch: Passengers Use Duct Tape To Stop Man Trying To Open Plane Door Mid-Flight
Passengers on an American Airlines flight heading to Chicago had to take action when a man attempted to open a plane door mid-air, leading to chaos in the cabin.?
The incident occurred on Tuesday aboard AA Flight 1219 departing from Albuquerque, New Mexico, for O'Hare International Airport, as confirmed by an American Airlines spokesperson to USA Today.
Videos circulating on social media depicted a man in a red shirt and black hoodie being restrained near an exit door by fellow passengers. He was subdued by a group of individuals and secured with duct tape. Law enforcement later took him into custody upon landing.
According to eyewitnesses interviewed by Albuquerque TV station KOAT, the man tried to open an emergency exit door while the plane was in the air. "He was sitting at the emergency exit and he cracked open the window that was protecting the handle," said passenger Emma Ritz.
Plane makes emergency landing after mid-air incident??
The situation escalated as the disruptive passenger attempted to open the door mid-flight, prompting others to intervene and restrain him with duct tape and zip ties before authorities arrived.
The airline's spokesperson stated that the flight returned to Albuquerque International Airport shortly after takeoff "due to a disturbance in the cabin involving a disruptive customer." Law enforcement officials boarded the plane upon landing.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) confirmed the safe return of the flight to New Mexico at 2:40 p.m. and stated that an investigation is ongoing. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is also involved in the case.
Unruly passengers disrupt international travel??
This incident adds to a series of unruly passenger reports disrupting air travel worldwide. Just this month, a Canadian national's actions in Thailand led to the evacuation slide deploying after attempting to open a plane door before takeoff, as reported by CNN. Similar incidents occurred in South Korea when a passenger felt suffocated and tried to open a plane door to exit quickly.
According to FAA data, there have been over 250 reports of unruly passengers by flight crews this year. This number surged to nearly 6,000 in 2021, following a decline during the Covid-19 pandemic, with more than 2,000 incidents reported in both 2022 and 2023.
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