An unruly passenger was beaten after attempting to open the emergency door on a flight from Brazil to Panama.
The flight had been going swimmingly until 30 minutes before landing when said flyer rushed to the back of the plane with a plastic knife from his food tray and attempted to take a flight attendant hostage with the goal of opening the plane door.
The kerfuffle reportedly broke out Tuesday morning aboard a Copa Airlines flight CM204 from Brasilia to Panama City in Panama.
“A flight attendant started screaming, and another tried to hold him back, but couldn’t because he was too strong,” said photojournalist Cristiano Carvalho, 51.
“He went past the back emergency door after the warning,” recalled Carvalho. “Then he started moving forward and trying to open it.”
That’s when passengers sprang to the rescue and fought the man to stop him from his apparent premature deplaning attempt.
In a statement, Copa Airlines reps claimed after landing in Panama “the national security team entered the aircraft and removed the passenger, taking him to the judicial authorities.”
“The crew acted quickly and, with the assistance of some passengers, applied the necessary safety protocols to control the situation until landing in Panama,” the spokesperson said. “Thanks to the professionalism of the crew, the safety of the flight and passengers was protected.”
