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Passenger opens emergency exit door and walks along plane wing

Man has been detained by police

Helen Coffey
Thursday 30 September 2021 17:08 BST
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Passenger opens plane door and walks along wing

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A plane passenger has been detained after he opened the emergency exit door and walked along the wing as the aircraft was taxiing the runway.

American traveller Christian Segura, 33, jumped from the wing to the ground but was quickly apprehended by police.

The incident occurred on Wednesday evening just after the American Airlines flight from Cali, Colombia, had touched down at Miami International Airport in Florida, US.

Video shows what appears to be a flight attendant standing on the wing, looking out to see where the passenger had gone.

The airline confirmed the incident aboard flight 920 in a statement.

“We are aware of an incident involving a passenger on American Airlines flight 920 from Cali, Colombia (CLO) to Miami (MIA),“ the carrier said, reports local10.com.

“While customers were exiting the plane at the gate, a passenger opened the over-wing emergency exit and jumped onto the ramp.

“The customer was immediately detained by law enforcement officials. All other customers deplaned normally.

“We thank our team members for their professionalism and apologize to our customers for the inconvenience.”

Segura said he wasn’t feeling well, according to police, and was transferred to Jackson Memorial Hospital’s emergency room to be treated for high blood pressure.

It remains unclear why he decided to leave the jet via the emergency exit.

It’s not the first time a passenger has climbed onto the wing of an aircraft.

In 2020, a woman opened the emergency exit on a plane and climbed onto the wing to cool down just after the flight had landed.

The unnamed passenger had flown from Antalya, Turkey, to Kiev, Ukraine, with Ukraine International Airlines (UIA) when the incident occurred.

After complaining of being too hot, she “opened the emergency exit and went on to the wing”, the airline said in a statement.

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