A US man, on board a Delta Airlines flight from Los Angeles to Seattle, was detained on Saturday for allegedly opening an exit door and causing the plane’s emergency slide to be activated before takeoff.
The Los Angeles Airport Police said around 10am EST., an unidentified passenger, wearing a striped red and navy blue sweater with black pants, rushed to the front of the plane while the plane was pushing away from the gate and asked the flight attendant, “what do I do now?”, reported the New York Post.
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According to the report, passengers told FOX 11 that the flight attendant insisted that the man sit down, but he ran from the flight attendant and went to the plane’s emergency exit doors, turned the latch, opened the door, and slid down the deployed emergency slide.
Forcing the plane to stop, the man jumped onto the back of a baggage cart, where luggage workers held him down until the airport police got there, the report quoted the passengers as saying.
“He is being taken to a local hospital for a mental evaluation,” said a security personnel.
“Airport Police responded and detained the passenger for further investigation. Due to the circumstances, FBI was notified,” the airport police told Fox News Digital.
The airline told Fox News Digital, “Delta flight 1714 operating from Los Angeles to Seattle returned to the gate due to an unruly passenger. The aircraft was holding to taxi for takeoff when the passenger exited the aircraft and was initially detained by Delta staff ahead of being arrested by local law enforcement.”
“Customers are being re-accommodated on a new aircraft, and we apologise for the inconvenience and delay in their travel plans,” it added.