A United Airlines flight from New Jersey to Tampa was unable to take off on time Sunday evening after a passenger made a daring getaway by opening the emergency exit door and jumping off the airplane using the inflatable slide, a witness and the airline tell NBC 4 New York.
United Airlines Flight 1640 was parked at the gate at Newark Liberty International Airport when the passenger popped a chute and slid down, according to law enforcement sources. When officers got to the scene, the passenger was yelling that he didn’t belong on the plane because it was the wrong flight, the sources said.
“While Flight 1640 was parked at the gate at Newark Liberty International Airport, a passenger opened the emergency exit door and departed the aircraft using the slide,” Maggie Schmerin, United Airlines spokeswoman said.
Sources said the passenger was placed under arrest.
The flight was delayed for more than five hours, according to Flightaware.com. Witness John O’Malley, a passenger on the plane that was delayed, said all of the passengers safely disembarked from the plane after the incident.
Schmerin added that the flight was rescheduled to depart from Newark around midnight. United Airlines confirmed the plane departed at 12:09 Monday morning.
Video shot by O’Malley and obtained by News 4 New York shows the passenger being led away off the tarmac by two police officers.
Port Authority did not immediately respond to News 4's request for comment.
Photo Credit: John O'Malley
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