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DELTA DANGER: Passenger arrested at LAX for opening plane's emergency exit moments before take-off

The flight from LAX to Seattle, Washington, was forced to stop and delayed by three hours after a passanger opened the emergency exit

LOS ANGELES. CALIFORNIA: A passenger on a Delta flight from Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) was arrested on Saturday, March 25, after he opened the flight’s emergency exit door and triggered the emergency slide, moments before take-off. The incident happened at around 10 am when the unidentified passenger, wearing a striped red and navy blue sweater with black pants, rushed to the front of the plane and asked the flight attendant, "what do I do now?" according to Los Angeles Airport Police.

Witnesses present on the flight said that the flight attendant urged the individual to sit down, but he resisted and instead raced to the emergency exit doors, turned the latch, opened the door, and slid down the emergency slide, reported Fox 11. The passenger then clambered onto the back of a luggage trolley, where staff members held him down until LAX Police arrived. The flight from LAX to Seattle, Washington, was forced to stop as passengers onboard were escorted off and moved to another plane. The flight was three hours delayed due to the incident.

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The passenger was taken to mental evaluation

A passenger on the aircraft later released footage of the incident, where the unidentified man is seen handcuffed on the tarmac as police hold him back. An officer escorts the man around a patrol car as flight attendants on board can be heard speaking over the plane's PA system. "The captain is speaking with air traffic control and officers out there," one flight attendant says. "Once we have more information we will be making an announcement."

Gillian Sheldon, who recorded the video, told Fox 11 that nobody had time to respond since everything happened so quickly. "You always tell yourself, when you see these things on TV, that I would have done this or that, but honestly, it was so quick, there was no way to react," she said. "Just glad it didn’t happen when we were midair, or it would have been a whole different outcome." Later, it was revealed that the man was not arrested but was “taken to a local hospital for a mental evaluation,” According to Sgt. Devin Feldman.

Delta Air Lines’ statement

Following the incident, Delta Air Lines released a statement 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. Customers are being re-accommodated on a new aircraft, and we apologize for the inconvenience and delay in their travel plans."