A man, who has not been named, plunged 11.5ft from the aircraft in front of other passengers as the plane was taxiing on the runway at Paris Orly Airport in France
Responders rush to scene after plane passenger allegedly opened emergency exit
A passenger caused chaos after allegedly attacking crew and jumping from an emergency exit as the plane prepared for take off.
The man plunged 11.5ft from the jet, while the plane was taxiing for take-off. The passenger suddenly got up from his seat and made his way to the front of the cabin where he allegedly tried to open the emergency exit.
A flight attendant intervened, but was allegedly assaulted before the passenger successfully opened the door. He then jumped to the runway below, while the engines of the Airbus A320 were still running.
The incident took place as Iberia flight IB578 left the gate at around 5.20pm last Friday, February 7, with the flight was due to depart from Paris Orly Airport in France for Barajas Airport in the Spanish capital, Madrid. Emergency responders rushed to detain the passenger.
And images taken from inside the plane show an emergency vehicle having arrived on the tarmac. Despite the seriousness of the situation, the flight still departed for Madrid later that evening. The aircraft arrived in Madrid just before midnight after a delay of four and a half hours.
The three-year-old plane was then temporarily taken out of service before resuming operations on Saturday afternoon. It’s currently unclear what caused the passenger to jump from the plane and what his current health condition is. It’s also unknown if Iberia plans to press charges against him for allegedly assaulting the flight attendant and delaying the flight. The investigation into the man’s actions is ongoing.
It was the second time in three months that a passenger had opened an emergency exit before takeoff on an Iberia flight, as reported by NeedToKnow. A nervous passenger deployed an emergency slide just as the Iberia Express flight was about to depart Ibiza for Madrid in December.
On that occasion, cabin crew members were able to stop the traveller from leaping down the slide. An Iberia spokesperson told The Mirror: “At this time we can only confirm the information, but cannot elaborate further. It is under investigation.”