LAX passenger arrested for triggering emergency slide and fleeing aircraft

The passenger triggered a police chase after deploying a plane's emergency slide. Photo / @gilliansheldon; Twitter

A passenger at Los Angeles International Airport was arrested after deploying the emergency slides on a departing Delta Airlines flight and fleeing the aircraft.

Los Angeles Airport Police were on the scene at 10am on Saturday to arrest the passenger who has not been named. The traveller, who was wearing a red and blue striped jumper, reportedly rushed the front of the plane while it was pushing away from the gate.

The panicked passenger asked crew: “What do I do now?”

According to Fox 11 News, flight attendants asked the man to return to his seat. Instead the man pulled the handle of the armed emergency exit door.

He opened the hatch and deployed the rubber safety slide, which he slid down, onto the tarmac.

After being confronted by airport police, the escaped passenger jumped aboard a luggage cart where he was eventually arrested.

“Airport Police responded and detained the passenger for further investigation. Due to the circumstances, FBI was notified” Los Angeles Airport Police said, in a statement.

“Delta flight 1714 operating from Los Angeles to Seattle returned to the gate due to an unruly passenger. The aircraft was holding to taxi for takeoff when the passenger exited the aircraft and was initially detained by Delta staff ahead of being arrested by local law enforcement.”

Passenger Gillian Sheldon was aboard the service, saying the whole thing was “so-crazy and happened so fast.”

Tweeting images from the scene, she said the crew were powerless to stop the passenger.

“Flight attendants tried to stop him but he deployed the slide and jumped out.”

She was eventually able to travel to Seattle, following three hours delay due to the incident.

“You always tell yourself, when you see these things on TV, that I would have done this or that, but honestly, it was so quick, there was no way to react,” she told Fox News.

“Just glad it didn’t happen when we were midair, or it would have been a whole different outcome.”

Following Saturday’s disruption, the airline apologised to passengers in a media statement, said that passengers would be rebooked for travel to Seattle.

“Delta flight 1714 operating from Los Angeles to Seattle returned to the gate due to an unruly passenger. The aircraft was holding to taxi for takeoff when the passenger exited the aircraft and was initially detained by Delta staff ahead of being arrested by local law enforcement. Customers are being reaccommodated on a new aircraft and we apologise for the inconvenience and delay in their travel plans.”