Passenger who tried to open the emergency door mid-flight was hit and held

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A passenger on a Copa Airlines flight from Brazil to Panama was overwhelmed and beaten after trying to open the emergency door mid-flight – a chaotic moment captured in a viral video.

According to reports, the incident occurred on board Copa Airlines flight CM204 on Tuesday, half an hour before it landed in Panama City.

The man grabbed a plastic knife from his food tray and attempted to take a flight attendant hostage as he headed for the emergency door. The New York Post reported. “One flight attendant started screaming and another tried to hold him back but couldn't because he was too strong,” Cristiano Carvalho, a photojournalist who filmed the incident, was quoted as saying by the American newspaper.

Carvalho described how passengers quickly intervened as the man reached the door and tackled him to the ground. “They beat him severely until he almost lost consciousness,” he said. The video shows passengers holding the handcuffed man, his face visibly bloody, while crew members tied his wrists with cable ties.

Upon landing, the Panamanian security team boarded the plane and took him into custody. Copa Airlines praised the crew and passengers for their quick response, stating: “The crew acted quickly and, with the support of some passengers, applied the necessary safety protocols.”

In early August, a passenger was arrested at an Australian airport after exiting a stationary plane through an emergency exit, walking along a wing and then climbing down a jet engine onto the runway.

Jetstar flight JQ507 had arrived at Melbourne Airport from Sydney and was parked at a terminal gate when the man exited the plane through the right exit.

Melbourne Airport said at the time the man was restrained by flight crew and ground staff before police arrested him.

In February of this year, a man had to be attacked and restrained by other passengers on board an American Airlines flight after he “aggressively” tried to open the plane door mid-flight.