Plane forced to land unexpectedly after passenger tries to open door mid-air

A Delta Air Lines plane was forced to make an emergency landing after a passenger tried to open the exit row door and fought with a flight attendant.

The male passenger attempted to pry open the door as Delta Connection flight 3612 was about one-third of the way through its journey from Omaha to Detroit on Thursday evening, WDIV reported.

Crew members and other passengers jumped in to stop him.

The pilot communicated with the Eastern Iowa Airport control tower in Cedar Rapids around 7pm and said the passenger was ‘in a fight with our flight attendant right now, trying to open the emergency exit’, according to an audio clip recorded by LiveATC.net.

After the plane made the unscheduled landing in Iowa and got to the gate, the troublemaker was immediately arrested.

A video obtained by WDIV shows a man wearing a white T-shirt being escorted in handcuffs through the aisle of the aircraft by police officers.

SkyWest Airlines, which operated the flight, stated that it ‘has zero tolerance for unruly behavior as safety for our customers and crew is our top priority’.

The passenger’s name has not been disclosed, and it is not clear what charges he faces.

The plane reached Detroit Metro Airport three hours late, around 10.30pm, according to Flight Radar.

It happened six months after a JetBlue passenger suddenly opened the exit door of the plane as it was taxiing for takeoff at Boston Logan International Airport. The open door triggered an emergency slide to deploy. The passenger was retrained by others on aboard the aircraft. He was reportedly arguing with his girlfriend on the phone before getting the door open.

And two-and-a-half weeks before that, an Alaska Airlines passenger opened an exit door of the plane and walked onto the wing after it touched down at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. She said she was anxious and was taken to a hospital.

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