'Something out of a movie': Man tries to open plane door mid-flight
A man who tried to wrestle his way off a flight mid-air had to be pried away from the door by passengers and handcuffed by airline employees.
He reportedly suffered a panic attack an hour before the British Airways flight 263 was due to land in Riyadh, in Saudi Arabia, from Heathrow in London, Monday night (local time), The Guardian reported.
The distressed individual reportedly yelled “I want to get out” repeatedly in broken english before Dean Whyte - brother of professional boxer Dillian Whyte - stepped in to help.
Mr Whyte, with his towering two metre frame, took over from another passenger who was trying to pull the man away from the door, and wrapped him in a firm bear hug.
He then told him to “calm down, bruv” over and over, which eventually proved successful.
The man who initially tried to intervene told the publication her was “mightily relieved” when he saw Mr Whyte coming to assist.
“It was like something out of a movie. When I got there he was shouting ‘I want to get out’ in broken English,” Mr Whyte said.
‘Not right in the head’
“I managed to grab him and was preparing to slam him hard if necessary, but myself and the steward could see he wasn’t quite right in the head so I held him and tried to calm him down. Eventually it worked.”
A flight attendant on board at the time told the publication the incident had been referred to authorities.
“Our cabin crew cared for a customer who suffered from a panic attack during the flight. We are sorry for any concern this caused our customers,” the airline said in a statement to The Guardian.
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