A man walked onto the wing of an airplane waiting to take off at the Mexico City International Airport on January 25, according to the Associated Press and BBC.
However, although the man “opened an emergency exit and walked out on a wing of a plane,” some of his fellow passengers were not upset with him, the AP reported. AP reported that the plane was an AeroMexico flight to Guatemala that carried 77 passengers. No one was injured because the plane had not yet taken off when the man walked onto the wing, AP reported.
Video circulated on social media showing the plane in question, with passengers disembarking from it and heading back into the airport.
The man was not identified.
Here’s what you need to know:
Other Passengers Signed a Statement Supporting the Man, Who They Said Acted ‘to Protect the Plane’
According to the AP, the man was “turned over to police.”
However, he was not without support; in fact, fellow passengers rallied to support the man, AP reported, even circulating a written statement that said he was trying “to protect everyone, with the support of everyone.”
The reason? According to AP, the man’s fellow passengers said the airline “made them wait for four hours without ventilation or water” because of a flight delay.
“All passengers on the flight from CDMX [Mexico City] to Guatemala [flight] AM 0672 state that the passenger on board who opened the emergency window was for the protection of everyone, with the support of everyone, since the delay and lack of air created dangerous conditions for the health of the passengers,” the passengers’ note read, according to BBC.
“He saved our lives,” they wrote.
The Airport Said in a Statement That the Man ‘Opened an Emergency Door’ on the Plane
There are reports that the passenger had been waiting inside the plane, along with the other passengers on a flight to Guatemala, for more than an hour without air conditioning, so he took such a step on 25 January.
The airport gave AP a statement reading, “yesterday a passenger on a flight to Guatemala opened an emergency door on a plane while it was stationary at a remote position, stood on a wing and then re-entered the cabin, without affecting the aircraft or anyone else. In line with international security regulations, this person turned himself over to the authorities.”
According to BBC, the plane’s delay was due to a “maintenance issue.”
The plane was supposed to leave at 8:45 a.m. but didn’t take off until after 2 p.m., according to a flight tracker, Flightradar24.
According to The New York Post, a video on the plane showed “passengers fanning themselves and asking a flight attendant for water.”
An incident report obtained by The New York Post read, “Around 11:37 a.m., a Mexican airline reported the beginning of a disturbance due to passenger discontent on flight AM672. The flight had been due to lift off at 8:45 a.m. Thursday, but because of a maintenance alert on the plane, the captain had to return to the gate for the required maintenance. The passengers were unhappy and one of them opened the emergency door and stepped out on the wing.”
It hasn’t been revealed whether the man will face any charges due to the incident.
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