US: Passenger opens flight's emergency exit right before takeoff, arrested

In yet another bizarre flight incident, a man in the United States (US) was arrested for reportedly opening an emergency exit door of a plane and causing its emergency slide to be activated moments before it was about to take off on Saturday (local time). The incident occurred on a Seattle-bound Delta Airlines flight at the Los Angeles International Airport, as per reports.

• This incident is the latest in a series of various bizarre incidents involving passenger misbehavior on flights operated by both Indian and American airlines.
• Less than a month ago, an American man was arrested for allegedly opening a United Airlines flight's emergency exit door and attempting to stab a flight attendant in the neck onboard a Los Angeles to Boston flight.

According to Fox News, the Los Angeles Airport Police said an unidentified passenger ran to the front of the airplane while it was departing from the airport gate and asked the flight crew, "What do I do now?" A flight attendant asked the passenger to sit down; however, he ran to the plane's emergency exit door, opened it, and slid down the emergency slide.

As a result, the plane was stopped, and eyewitnesses revealed that the accused then jumped onto the back of a luggage cart, where baggage workers kept hold of him until the police arrived. As per the airport police, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) was also informed about it. "Airport Police responded and detained the passenger for further investigation," said the LA Airport Police.

Following the incident, CBS quoted a statement from Delta Airlines as saying, "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," it added.

In a similar incident on March 6, CNN reported that a 33-year-old man was arrested for allegedly trying to open the emergency exit on a Los Angeles-Boston United Airlines flight. Identified as Francisco Severo Torres, the man also tried to stab a flight attendant. According to the US Justice Department, the accused pushed the emergency door's locking handle out of the fully locked position.

A flight attendant saw Torres near the door, tried to confront him, and informed the captain about the situation. The man then reportedly got out of his seat, moved toward one of the fight crew members, and hit their neck thrice with a metal spoon. During questioning, Torres reportedly informed law enforcement that he "had gotten the idea" to jump off the flight.