Seattle: It was a harrowing experience for passengers on board an All Nippon Airways flight from Tokyo to Houston on Saturday after one among them tugged at the handle of an emergency exit, attempting to open it. The aircraft was diverted to Seattle.
According to reports, the man screamed that he would kill everyone on board before attempting to open the door mid-air. Startled passengers – many of whom were asleep – and alert cabin crew managed to overpower the man and pinned him down.
The passenger created panic just over three hours before the flight’s scheduled landing in Houston. The pilots reacted immediately and landed at Seattle within 45 minutes.
Authorities at the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport confirmed to local media that a male passenger, whose identity hasn’t been revealed, jumped for the door handle and attempted to open the plane’s emergency exit.
After the plane landed in Seattle safely, the police boarded the aircraft and discovered that the accused was having a medical emergency. He was immediately moved to a hospital for medical evaluation.
The flight departed for Houston thereafter. Passengers faced a four-hour delay due to the incident.
