CNN
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A man aboard a Southwest Airlines plane at the gate at New Orleans Louis Armstrong International Airport opened an emergency exit door and climbed onto the wing, authorities said.
The Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office said they responded to a disturbance at the airport after a 38-year-old man opened an emergency exit door, accessed the wing and jumped out. At the time of the incident, the plane was stationary and had not left the gate, and the man was stopped by ground staff and detained until police arrived.
Passenger Zed Webster told CNN he heard what sounded like an argument between two passengers across the aisle and feared a fight would break out. He said he took out his cell phone and began recording the incident.
Webster said the passenger immediately unlocked the exit door and jumped out the window after pressing the recording button. “It was scary,” he said.
Webster’s video shows several passengers being evacuated from the plane and rushing through the jetway. The video then shows what appears to be an airline employee jumping from the jetway onto the tarmac to help his colleagues subdue the passengers.
When officers contacted the passenger on the tarmac, the passenger appeared “incoherent and not fully aware of his surroundings,” the sheriff’s office said.
A statement from the sheriff’s office said the man “was transported to a local hospital for evaluation after police determined that he was experiencing a mental health emergency,” where he remains hospitalized.
“There was no indication that the man had left anything on the plane, and he was not in possession of any type of weapon,” the statement continued. “He will not face criminal charges locally, but the investigation has been referred to federal authorities. No one was injured in the incident.”
“We commend the quick actions of our flight and ground crews and apologize for the inconvenience caused to our customers,” Southwest Airlines spokesperson Chris Perry told CNN in an email. .
After the delay, they departed on a different aircraft, Perry said. Webster said the delay was about two hours, and the plane arrived in Atlanta shortly before midnight.