Video of dozens of frightened Southwest Airlines passengers rushing the doors of an Atlanta-bound plane went viral after a man opened the emergency door, climbed out of it, and found himself on the craft’s wing.
A witness said the man left something on the plane that could have been a bomb, prompting everyone to rush the door, believing the man intended to blow up the flight before it took off.
No one was injured, and the bomb threat was not substantiated; however, the passenger who opened the emergency door was taken to a local hospital and is being evaluated.
Authorities say a flight from the Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport scheduled to depart to Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport and later to Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport was interrupted on Sunday, Nov. 26, when a man jumped out of the plane’s emergency exit hatch unexpectedly around 7:41 p.m. near Concourse B gate.
The Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office released a statement on the incident.
“He was caught on the tarmac, and transported to a local hospital for evaluation,” the sheriff’s office said, without revealing the details of his medical condition or mental wellness.
The sheriff’s office said the man was 38 years old and believed to be an Atlanta resident.
But footage shot by someone inside the flight showed how upsetting the man’s actions were to others. TikToker Zedweb08 posted the clip of the people panicking.
“He put something on the plane, and then he jumped out the exit window,” a voice explains, as people push past him and tell others to go. Some passengers are sitting, trying to understand what’s happening, but others, without asking any questions, plow to the exit door near the cockpit.
The video then shows a frantic Southwest worker instructing people to safety.
As the man recording walks into the gate area, he says, “I never dreamed I’d be going through something like this,” before noticing authorities detaining the man through an airport window.
“There he is. They got him. Thank God,” the narrator says while watching the arrest.
The man jumped out of an over-wing emergency exit located over the plane’s wings, an escape for those who agreed to sit in these exceptionally spacious seats. If this had been an authorized evacuation, as listed in the manual tucked in the back seat net pocket, the passengers would have slid down the wings before reaching the tarmac.
Southwest Airlines released a statement on the incident.
“We commend our flight and ground crews for their swift action and apologize to our customers for their inconvenience,” the airline said.
The JPSO also states that, as of now, there are no criminal charges expected to be filed in their jurisdiction. But the case has been referred to federal authorities, who will review it to see if they will pursue charges against the man.
