A passenger on an American Airlines flight attempted to open the emergency exit doors during the flight, forcing the aircraft to make an unscheduled return to Albuquerque, New Mexico. Not long after departure, there was a mishap; no injuries were recorded.
On Tuesday, February 21st, the flight was scheduled to take off from Albuquerque International Sunport (ABQ) and land at Chicago O'Hare International Airport (ORD). However, midway through the flight, a customer who was situated in the exit row allegedly attempted to unlock one of the emergency exit doors.
Witnesses recorded the chaos on camera, with other passengers restraint the person in question. Later, the person was spotted wearing duct tape to secure his feet. The passenger's effort to open the door and his subsequent rants were described by eyewitness Emma Ritz in her account of the incident.
The disruption was confirmed by American Airlines, which said that a rowdy customer was the reason Flight 1219 returned to ABQ. They made a point of saying that local law police met the aircraft once it safely touched down.
A Boeing 737-800, registered N352PS, was the aircraft in question; it was delivered to American Airlines in September 2017. The jet took off with a minor delay from ABQ at 13:54, reaching an altitude of over 27,000 feet before descending and landing back at the airport at 14:40.
As shown in footage that have gone viral, local officials removed the rowdy passenger from the aircraft when they arrived. Both the FBI's Albuquerque Division and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) acknowledged the occurrence and opened an investigation.
Investigations are still ongoing to learn more specifics about the event and the passenger's intentions.
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