An American Airlines plane bound for Chicago had to return to its departure airport in the US state of New Mexico after one of its passengers tried to open the door mid-flight, reports said. reported American media.
The plane, which took off from the southwestern city of Albuquerque, had almost reached 8,000 m altitude before turning back, according to flight tracking data.
“American Airlines Flight 1219 returned safely to Sunport International Airport in Albuquerque, New Mexico, around 2:40 p.m. local time (9:40 p.m. GMT) Tuesday, February 20, after the crew reported a disturbance coming from a passenger,” the American Civil Aviation Regulatory Agency (FAA) declared on its website.
“The FAA is investigating,” she added, without providing further information on the incident.
Mastered by passengers
Questioned by ABC, Blaze Ward, one of the passengers, claimed that the man “had already lowered the safety mechanism and had both hands on the lever”.
“He was a big guy and he had already pulled it good and I don’t know if you can hear it but there was a difference in pressure, like a hiss,” he reported.
In a video posted on social media, passengers can be seen preventing the man from opening the handle of one of the exit doors.
On their X accounts (formerly Twitter), two travelers shared photos of this mishap, saying that the individual had been restrained and then tied up with adhesive tape.
30 minutes after leaving Albuquerque I was shaken out of my Panda Express and Tequila induced stupor by a man trying to aggressively open the airplane door 4 rows back.
Me and 5 other dudes had to wrestle him into the aisle, duct tape his legs, and throw flexi-cuffs on him.… pic.twitter.com/zkrtEveYgQ
— The Wonton Don (@DonnieDoesWorld) February 20, 2024
One of the scariest days of my life.
Flying back home from ABQ and we've been in the air for about 30 minutes and a huge gush of wind comes out of no where.
This guy opened the emergency exit door.
People were tackling him down and putting him in zip ties.
Had to emergency land back.
pic.twitter.com/PojFvDU3rS
— ＬΛＹＺ (@layzdubz) February 20, 2024
2,000 incidents in 2023
Although the United States has not experienced a fatal plane accident in more than ten years, vigilance has increased in the sector since an incident occurred last month, when the door of a Boeing 737 MAX 9 of Alaska Airlines broke away in mid-flight.
The number of unruly passengers has also skyrocketed in recent years, reaching a record of nearly 6,000 incidents in 2021, according to FAA figures.
These figures have fallen to around 2,000 incidents in 2022 and 2023.