Japanese Airline Passenger Tries To Open Exit Doors Mid-Air, Flight Diverted
A Houston-bound flight from Japan's Tokyo had to be diverted to Seattle after an "unruly" passenger attempted to open two exit doors of the aircraft, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) said.
The incident occurred on All Nippon Airways (ANA) Flight 114, a Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner, on Saturday, May 24.
The individual was restrained by the co-passengers and crew, the FBI said in a statement. Soon after the plane landed in Seattle, the person was taken to a nearby hospital for medical evaluation, CNN reported.
The flight took off from the Haneda Airport in Tokyo and was scheduled to arrive at the George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston.
Data from FlightAware, a flight tracking platform, showed the flight remained in the air for nearly 10 hours before it landed at about 4 AM (local time) in Seattle.
Port of Seattle spokesperson Chris Guizlo told CNN that police were called following reports of the passenger attempting to open the exit doors of the flight. There were no injuries in the incident, he added.
A spokesperson for the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said the flight was diverted from Houston to Seattle due to "passenger disturbance".
Once the flight landed in Seattle, another passenger behaved erratically on the tarmac over the diversion. The second passenger even punched the bathroom door at the airport, according to the FBI.
Due to his unruly behaviour, the passenger was removed from the aircraft, which then started its journey to Houston.
No charges have been filed in connection with the incident, the FBI said.
The flight arrived at around 1 PM (local time) in Houston, the airline said.
In April this year, a Melbourne-bound flight from Indonesia's Bali, carrying over 200 people, had to be diverted when a passenger got up mid-air and tried to open the plane door.
The United States saw roughly 6,000 incidents related to unruly passenger behaviour in 2021. The number declined to 2,000 incidents in 2023.
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