Passengers Prevent Woman From Opening Plane Door

Image: PHOTO: The boarding door of a plane. (photo via E+ / baranozdemir)
Image: PHOTO: The boarding door of a plane. (photo via E+ / baranozdemir)
Alex Temblador
by Alex Temblador
Last updated: 12:52 PM ET, Tue March 19, 2019

Passengers had to physically restrain a woman who tried to open the door of a plane on a Republic Airlines flight operated by Delta from Indianapolis to Detroit.

According to the Wayne County Airport Authority, shortly after take-off, a woman allegedly tried to open the boarding plane door and passengers prevented her from doing so.

When the plane landed safely at Metro Airport at 6:45 p.m. on Monday, authorities took the woman into custody.

It doesn't appear that the woman's actions had a criminal intent behind them. Officials say she has been suffering from a medical issue and this may have affected her behavior, though the FBI is fully investigating the matter.

"As of now, it appears she did not have any criminal intent and instead may be suffering from a medical issue. However, this is based on preliminary reports," Erica Donerson, DTW spokeswoman, said in an emailed statement to USA Today.

"We're aware of an incident which occurred on our flight 5972 on Monday evening," Jon Austin, Republic Airline spokesman, said in an emailed statement. "While we can confirm that the flight landed without incident and ahead of schedule, we're unable to further comment as this matter is still being investigated. We apologize to any passengers who were affected by this incident."


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Alex Temblador

Alex Temblador

Alex Temblador is an award-winning travel writer and the award-winning author of Secrets of the Casa Rosada, Half Outlaw, andWriting An Identity Not Your Own. This Mixed Latine writer is based in Dallas, Texas, and has had publications in Travel + Leisure, Conde Nast Traveler, Lonely Planet, Outside, among many others. She's best known for her articles on diversity, inclusion, and equity in travel. You can reach her at [email protected].

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