Passenger Opens Emergency Exit And Walks On Wing Of Place, Arrested

A male passenger onboard a United Airlines flight was taken into custody on Thursday after landing at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport. The said male passenger identified as Randy Frank Davila, 57, from California -- opened the emergency exit and then decided to walk out onto the wing and slid himself down to the airfield as soon as the plane landed and taxied the gate of the runway.

According to CBS News, the male subject came from United Airlines flight 2478 that flew in from San Diego. The Chicago Police Department said the ground crew was able to apprehend the individual outside of the aircraft and he was taken into custody. Passengers aboard the plane were short of dumbfounded when they witnessed the man rip open the emergency exit door in row 21. The flight had just landed at the airport around 4:30 a.m. when the incident occurred.

Law enforcement was immediately called to stop the man with passenger disembarkment delayed for about 20 minutes on the tarmac. All passengers were safely deplaned at the gate while police said Davila was arrested without incident and is now facing charges of reckless conduct. He is scheduled to appear in court on June 27.

Unruly passengers have been on the rise and continue to disrupt flights since the coronavirus pandemic began. Many have also been reported attempting to open doors mid-flight. Some instances involve passengers acting oddly disturbing or violent, with the most recent case just concluded in court last month. The case involved an American Airlines flight attendant having to resort to hitting one female passenger with a coffee pot after she tried to open the passenger cabin door while the plane was in mid-flight.

In July 2021, two female passengers were accused and charged of hitting and biting crew and other passengers onboard that particular American Airlines flight. One of the female passengers repeatedly hit the flight attendant on the head forcing the flight attendant to respond to the growing threat. After the female passenger was restrained in cuffs, she managed to spit at and headbutt the flight crew while she kicked at them and the other passengers. The Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) said it had banned the passengers from flying on the airline.

The passengers were each slapped with fines of $82,000 and $77,272, said to be the highest penalties ever brought on against an individual by the FAA. Americal Airlines union representatives said the steep penalties for such outbursts could lessen such incidents and let other passengers feel safer inflight.

Meanwhile, the FAA said these incidents are just part of nearly 6.000 cases of violent and disruptive passengers that have been reported since last year. The FAA announced its launch of a zero-tolerance campaign in 2021 for such behavior observing the spike in passenger outbursts. Airlines have also been prompted to develop internal ban lists as several democratic members of Congress have also pushed for legislation that would impose a no-fly list on individuals with records of violent passenger behavior.