A Southwest Airlines passenger allegedly jumped out of an emergency exit while the aircraft was preparing for departure. Flight 3172 was set to leave New Orleans, Louisiana.
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A video on TikTok shared by user @ZedWeb08 showed the moment when passengers were trying to exit the plane during a “rapid disembarkment” due to the nature of the situation. The procedure is when passengers are told to quickly leave from vehicles or vessels such as planes, ships, or buses. Some passengers claimed they saw the man reportedly throw something before opening the emergency overwing exit, causing everyone to panic.
In a follow-up video, Zed filmed the male suspect being detained after he was dragged from a truck that was parked by the airplane. Officials said the man was incoherent and not aware of his surroundings, as reported by WSB-TV. The 38-year-old male suspect was transported to a local hospital after officers believed he was suffering from a mental health emergency.
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No criminal charges have been filed against the suspect, and Jefferson Parish deputies said there were no indications that he left any object on the plane and he didn’t have any weapons. Additionally, no one was injured during the incident and his identity was not revealed because he was not arrested.
The video quickly went viral on social media, with 2.2 million views since its upload. One user wrote,“It’s too many people trying to figure out what’s going on instead of moving 😭 im glad everyone is safe.” Another said, “LMFAO the people still in their seats, I would’ve been halfway home.”
The investigation has been handed over to federal investigators, but no further information was revealed.
