American Airlines plane makes emergency landing after a man is ‘fought to the ground’ by passengers when he tried to open the door mid-flight
- Man on board flight from Chicago to Dallas held down by crew and passengers
- Witnesses said he tried to open an emergency exit mid-flight at 30,000 feet
- The American Airlines flight made an emergency landing at St. Louis airport
- After the landing police restrained the man and dragged him off the aircraft
A passenger had to be held down by flight crew and members of the public after trying to open an emergency exit door mid-flight.
The flight from Chicago to Dallas made an emergency landing in St. Louis on Tuesday night and the man was arrested by police.
Passengers on board the American Airlines flight 2300 said a man tried to open the emergency exit while the plane was traveling at 30,000 feet.
A male passenger was removed from an American Airlines plane and arrested in St. Louis after forcing an emergency landing
The passenger (left and right) was hauled off the flight by police at St. Louis airport and duct tape was used to fasten his hands behind his back
Flight attendants and fellow passengers tackled the man and subdued him for 25 minutes, according to eye witnesses.
An airport official at the St. Louis Lambert International Airport confirmed a man was removed from the flight and arrested by airport police, according to WSBT.
A video of the incident was posted on social media showed a passenger being restrained before being escorted off the plane by police.
He could be seen being led from the plane after being forced to the ground by passengers and crew and had his hands tied behind his back with duct tape.
The video showed police hauling him from the aircraft, with one member of security grabbing him by his clothing while another gripped him tightly with both arms and dragged from the plane.
Passengers and crew ‘fought to the ground’ the man on the American Airlines flight from Chicago to Dallas before police removed him from the aircraft
Passengers watched on as the man was taken from the plane and arrested by police in St. Louis
Five officers were needed to securely restrain the man before the was lead off the flight.
A passenger who was no board tweeted that the man was ‘fought to the ground’ by crew and other passengers on the plane and ‘subdued’ until the plane safely landed at around 7.40pm.
The passenger added in a tweet: ‘Emergency landing because someone tried to open the emergency exit during flight and was fought to the ground.’
He later wrote: ‘We landed in St. Louis safely. The flight attendants and a few passengers subdued the man to the ground until we landed. Medical attention was called.’
The identity of the arrested male passenger has not yet been confirmed.
St. Louis Lambert International Airport where an American Airlines flight was forced to land and a male passenger was arrested