Originally published April 15, 2014
A Southwest Airlines flight bound for California from Chicago was diverted on Monday after an unruly passenger tried to open one of the plane's emergency exits.
A total of 135 passengers and five crew members were aboard.
The incident happened around an hour after departure, around the time the flight attendants had finished their initial beverage service, Reuters reported.
According to the Los Angeles Times, it started with a woman screaming and other people crying and "practically fainting" at the back of the plane. Flight attendants rushed to see what was happening and found out one of the passengers trying to open the emergency exit.
According to Reuters, he told them he wanted to "look out of the window."
He was eventually tackled by a group of other passengers and pinned down.
Two passengers reported that the man continued to resist, that his pupils were dilated and he was speaking incoherently.
One of the passengers quoted by the Los Angeles Times said he believed the man was under the influence of some sort of drugs or that he was psychotic.
The plane was then eventually diverted and airport police escorted the man off the plane after it landed in Nebraska.
Southwest Airlines said the remaining passengers traveled safely on to Sacramento, arriving about two hours behind the schedule.
A Southwest Airlines flight bound for California from Chicago was diverted on Monday after an unruly passenger tried to open one of the plane's emergency exits.
A total of 135 passengers and five crew members were aboard.
The incident happened around an hour after departure, around the time the flight attendants had finished their initial beverage service, Reuters reported.
According to the Los Angeles Times, it started with a woman screaming and other people crying and "practically fainting" at the back of the plane. Flight attendants rushed to see what was happening and found out one of the passengers trying to open the emergency exit.
According to Reuters, he told them he wanted to "look out of the window."
He was eventually tackled by a group of other passengers and pinned down.
Two passengers reported that the man continued to resist, that his pupils were dilated and he was speaking incoherently.
One of the passengers quoted by the Los Angeles Times said he believed the man was under the influence of some sort of drugs or that he was psychotic.
The plane was then eventually diverted and airport police escorted the man off the plane after it landed in Nebraska.
Southwest Airlines said the remaining passengers traveled safely on to Sacramento, arriving about two hours behind the schedule.
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