Man hospitalized and detained after JUMPING from moving plane onto tarmac at Los Angeles airport, just a day after another incident where a driver plowed through a fence and onto the airfield, crossing runways as police chased the car
A passenger was detained and taken to the hospital Friday night after jumping out of a moving plane at Los Angeles International Airport in the second unsettling incident to take place at LAX in two days, authorities said.
United Express flight 5365, operated by SkyWest, was pulling away from a gate shortly after 7 p.m. when a man unsuccessfully tried to breach the cockpit by pounding on the door.
He then managed to open the service door and jumped down the emergency slide onto the tarmac, according to airport and SkyWest officials.
The man, who has yet to be identified, was taken into custody on the taxiway, treated for non life-threatening injuries on scene and taken to the hospital, authorities said.
CNN reports that the Federal Aviation Administration is saying the man had been in an altercation with another passenger on board prior to making the jump.
A passenger was detained and taken to the hospital Friday night after jumping out of a moving plane at Los Angeles International Airport, with the FBI now assisting the investigation
CNN reports that the man had been in an altercation with another passenger on board prior to the unsettling incident
The plane was force to return to its gate, where it waited for hours before finally taking off for Salt Lake City late Friday night
The plane, which was headed to Salt Lake City, was forced to return to its gate due to the incident, the airport said.
It was still there hours later at 10 pm before finally taking off late Friday night.
Nobody else aboard the plane was injured, according to authorities.
The FBI is still investigating the incident to determine the passenger's motive, spokeswoman Laura Eimiller said according to ABC News.
Los Angeles International Airport, the site of a handful of recent summer incidents, with computer outages in May and two back-to-back disruptions on Thursday and Friday
A traveler awaits for transportation at the LAX Airport, where airport police are also investigating a driver who drove through a fence and onto the airfield on Thursday
SkyWest Airlines, operating as United Express, was the latest airline to experience an unsettling incident at LAX this week, with a driver plowing through a fence at a FedEx cargo facility
It was the second disruption at LAX in two days, but one of many in the last several months.
On Thursday, a driver plowed through a chain-link fence at a FedEx cargo facility and went onto the airfield, crossing runways as police chased the car.
Police said the driver was detained and no injuries were reported, however two runways were briefly closed.
No other passengers were injured in Friday's bizarre disruption, according to officials
The FBI is still investigating the incident to determine the passenger's motive, spokeswoman Laura Eimiller said
Last month, massive computer outages caused long delays for all nationwide airports, including LAX, leading to long and frustrating delays on the afternoon of May 20, with flights unable to board until early the next morning.
'We confirm there has been an outage of the Sabre system, impacting several customers. However, the issue is now fully resolved, and we will take all necessary measures to prevent a recurrence,' Sabre said in a May 21 statement according to the local Los Angeles CBS affiliate.
The news outlet reports that when Sabre’s system goes down, airlines are unable to check people in, print boarding passes or print bag tags, essentially bringing their systems to a standstill.