Man allegedly tries to open emergency exit door on in-flight airplane

May 28, 2013

An Arizona man is in federal custody after allegedly attempting to open the emergency exit door on an Alaska Airlines plane as it was landing in Portland, Ore. Some passengers and crew members restrained 23-year-old Alexander Herrera. One of them, Ryan Olerich, told KOIN TV the man was not acting normally, even before the incident.

“The passengers, I could hear them talking, just a few rows behind me,” Olerich said. “After they had him subdued they said he was, kept mumbling to himself and was asking bizarre questions and really behaving bizarrely.”

Olerich says the man was yanking on the exit door and there was a loud hissing noise before he and the others stepped in. Nobody on board was injured.