canyonblue
Everyone loves Southwest
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- Nov 26, 2001
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A passenger who tried to jump out of a Southwest Airlines flight while the plane was taxiing on the tarmac at Salt Lake City International Airport had to be restrained by other passengers until police arrived.
The 27-year-old man, who takes medication for paranoid schizophrenia, thought the plane was being hijacked and tried to escape, said his mother.
Tuesday, the man's mother, who wished to remain anonymous, said her son was embarrassed about what happened and very apologetic.
The incident occurred Monday night on Southwest flight 1251 from Phoenix to Salt Lake City. The plane had just landed at the airport and was waiting for a gate to open, Southwest spokeswoman Whitney Brewer said.
From the time the plane took off in Phoenix, the man "exhibited behavior that was not normal," according to a statement taken from passenger Kenneth Mikal in a police report.
Witnesses said the man "spoke of Jesus," "slapped his body," "broke out into laughter" and assumed a position "as if he were practicing martial arts," according to the report.
The man kept looking at the handle on the emergency door, according to witnesses.
The plane landed in heavy fog at the airport and had to wait until it could pull up to its gate. When the plane started moving again to taxi to its gate, the man believed it was being hijacked. He got out of his seat, opened the emergency door and tried to jump out, the report stated. Other passengers pulled him back into the plane and restrained him until police arrived.
Once he was back in the plane, the man apologized to the other passengers, according to the report.
"He thought someone was hijacking the plane and he panicked," his mother said, offering an explanation to what happened.
"He said, 'Mom, I was so scared. I was sure it was being hijacked,' " she said. "He didn't try to hurt anyone. He's not the type of person who hurts people."
Police took the man to Salt Lake Regional Hospital, where a doctor said he "did not consider the man a threat" and cleared him to be released, the report stated.
The man was given a ticket for disorderly conduct, a misdemeanor, and released to the custody of his mother.
His mother said her son was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia eight years ago and has been good about taking his medicine and seeing counselors.
"Nothing like this has ever happened," she said. "He feels so bad about this whole thing."
His mother believes the thick fog had something to do with why her son thought the plane was being hijacked.
In August 2000, a 19-year-old Las Vegas man who tried to kick in the cockpit door on a Southwest flight that landed in Salt Lake City died of an apparent heart attack after being restrained by passengers. No charges were filed in that incident.
The 27-year-old man, who takes medication for paranoid schizophrenia, thought the plane was being hijacked and tried to escape, said his mother.
Tuesday, the man's mother, who wished to remain anonymous, said her son was embarrassed about what happened and very apologetic.
The incident occurred Monday night on Southwest flight 1251 from Phoenix to Salt Lake City. The plane had just landed at the airport and was waiting for a gate to open, Southwest spokeswoman Whitney Brewer said.
From the time the plane took off in Phoenix, the man "exhibited behavior that was not normal," according to a statement taken from passenger Kenneth Mikal in a police report.
Witnesses said the man "spoke of Jesus," "slapped his body," "broke out into laughter" and assumed a position "as if he were practicing martial arts," according to the report.
The man kept looking at the handle on the emergency door, according to witnesses.
The plane landed in heavy fog at the airport and had to wait until it could pull up to its gate. When the plane started moving again to taxi to its gate, the man believed it was being hijacked. He got out of his seat, opened the emergency door and tried to jump out, the report stated. Other passengers pulled him back into the plane and restrained him until police arrived.
Once he was back in the plane, the man apologized to the other passengers, according to the report.
"He thought someone was hijacking the plane and he panicked," his mother said, offering an explanation to what happened.
"He said, 'Mom, I was so scared. I was sure it was being hijacked,' " she said. "He didn't try to hurt anyone. He's not the type of person who hurts people."
Police took the man to Salt Lake Regional Hospital, where a doctor said he "did not consider the man a threat" and cleared him to be released, the report stated.
The man was given a ticket for disorderly conduct, a misdemeanor, and released to the custody of his mother.
His mother said her son was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia eight years ago and has been good about taking his medicine and seeing counselors.
"Nothing like this has ever happened," she said. "He feels so bad about this whole thing."
His mother believes the thick fog had something to do with why her son thought the plane was being hijacked.
In August 2000, a 19-year-old Las Vegas man who tried to kick in the cockpit door on a Southwest flight that landed in Salt Lake City died of an apparent heart attack after being restrained by passengers. No charges were filed in that incident.
