Man Jumped Out Of A Moving Plane, Ran Across Tarmac And Locked Himself Inside Fire Station

A man jumped out of a moving airplane at the Phoenix airport on Saturday. The 30-year-old passenger opened the rear galley door of Southwest Airlines flight 4236 after it had touched down from Colorado Springs, and while it was taxiing to the gate.

According to Southwest Airlines,

Initial reports indicate that while the flight was taxing to the gate, a Customer onboard exited the aircraft via a rear galley door..The flight’s Captain stopped the aircraft and notified Air Traffic Control (ATC).

Once on the ground the man hopped over to Phoenix Fire Station 19. He went inside and “locked himself inside a dormitory room” though eventually “firefighters were able to get the adult male to unlock the door.” He was then taken into custody and removed to a local hospital to be treated for a “lower extremity injury,” according to the captain of the on-airport fire department.

The flight continued to its gate. There’s no word yet on whether the passenger will face charges.

Whenever anyone does something like this, it’s a bit of an homage to Steven Slater, the JetBlue flight attendant who cursed a passenger, grabbed a beer from the galley, and deployed the emergency slide as his most dramatic exit from an aviation job in 2010. However since Southwest Airlines still hasn’t restored alcohol service to its flights, this man couldn’t grab a beer before peaceing out.

(HT: @crucker)

About Gary Leff

Gary Leff is one of the foremost experts in the field of miles, points, and frequent business travel - a topic he has covered since 2002. Co-founder of frequent flyer community InsideFlyer.com, emcee of the Freddie Awards, and named one of the "World's Top Travel Experts" by Conde' Nast Traveler (2010-Present) Gary has been a guest on most major news media, profiled in several top print publications, and published broadly on the topic of consumer loyalty. More About Gary »

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Comments

  1. This makes perfect sense. I can’t imagine anyone wanting to be on a Southworst bus any longer than necessary (or at all)

  2. Did the fa that was sitting back even TRY to stop him or was she too engaged in Candy Crush to even be bothered to look up from her phone?

  3. Where’s the FAs that was supposed to man the back galley doors? Aren’t they supposed to be on the plane for “safety reasons” first ?

  4. Ah, Steven Slater, best take this job and shove it ever. Have imagined trying to top it, but can never come up with just the perfect exit.

  5. If the doors were Still armed wouldn’t the evacuation slide have been deployed? And the plane continue to taxi with the exit slide deployed?
    And where was the FA ???

  6. They don’t arm the slides anymore because of social distancing. People might try to evacuate before their row or zone has been called.

    Also, the flight attendants complained that passengers might loosen their masks while sliding off of a flame-filled aircraft. Also, they need to limit customer interaction, and an evacuation would mean getting too close to a lot of people.

    That was sarcasm, but…
    Wouldn’t there have been any number of people to stop this guy before he even reached the aft galley? Or did the just yell, “Sir! Sir! SIR! SIR! This is an active taxiway and federal law says that.. and SIR! Your MASK! SIR!”

    Aren’t these “safety professionals” are “primarily here for our safety.”
    I’m not excusing the errant passenger put I have some serious questions about the cabin crew.
    Yes, they’ve had a lousy time. But the nation has an abundance of job openings. Maybe they should start checking job listings instead of playing Candy Crush.

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