US Man Opens Plane's Exit Door, Activates Emergency Slide Minutes Before Takeoff

A man in the United States has been arrested for allegedly opening an emergency exit door aboard a plane and causing its emergency slide to be activated moments before it was set to take off. According to Fox News, the incident took place on Saturday at the Los Angeles International Airport. The unidentified man was on a Delta Airlines flight which was heading towards Seattle. 

As per the outlet, the Los Angeles Airport Police said that the passenger, wearing a striped red and navy blue sweater with black pants, rushed to the front of the plane while it was pushing away from the gate and asked the flight attendant, "What do I do now?" 

Eyewitnesses also told Fox News that despite the flight attendant repeatedly asking the man to sit down, he ran from the Delta Air Lines flight attendant and went to the plane's emergency exit doors, turned the latch, opened the door, and slid down the deployed emergency slide. 

The incident forced the plane to stop. Passengers said that the man jumped onto the back of a baggage cart, where luggage workers help him down until the airport police got there. 

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According to CBS News, the airline in a statement said, "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."

Separately, the Los Angeles Airport Police said that the FBI has been notified about the event. "Airport Police responded and detained the passenger for further investigation. Due to the circumstances, FBI was notified," Los Angeles Airport Police told Fox News. 

Following the incident, the man was also taken to a local hospital for a mental evaluation. Other passengers, on the other hand, were escorted off and moved to another plane. According to FlightAware.com, the flight was 3 hours delayed due to the incident.