A man in America tried to open the emergency door of a plane mid-flight

An American Airlines plane flying to Chicago had to turn around after one of its passengers tried to open the door mid-flight, US media reported.

In a video circulating on social networks since Tuesday afternoon, other travelers are seen preventing the man from turning the handle of one of the exit hatches.

The plane, which took off from the city of Albuquerque in the southwestern United States, An altitude of about 8,000 meters was reached before turning aroundAccording to air tracking data.

American Airlines Flight 1219 returned to Albuquerque Sunport International Airport, New Mexico without incident, the US Civil Aviation Regulatory Agency (FAA) said on its website, “The crew reported a disturbance with a passenger.

“FAA Conducts Investigation”he added.

Blaise Ward, one of the passengers told ABC The man “had already lowered the safety mechanism and was holding the lever with both hands.”

“The difference in pressure like a whistle,” he said, is already noticeable.

Albuquerque television station KOAT interviewed several passengers, including Emma Ritz, who claimed the man tried to open the emergency door while the plane was taking off.

“He was sitting near the emergency exit and broke the cover protecting the handle,” Ritz said. “It broke the handle where part of the emergency exit was exposed and all the wind came in at once.”

KOAT reported that others Six passengers on the plane subdued the man and held him in the aisle until the flight ended, taping his legs and placing plastic handcuffs on him.

“The guy was yelling ‘I’ve got to get out of here’ when they took him down”Ritz told KOAT.

Neither the FBI nor Albuquerque police have yet released any information about the troublemaker. A spokeswoman for the Federal Aviation Administration said Wednesday that the agency is already investigating the incident.

“I’m curious about what was going on with him, why he needed to get off the plane,” Ritz said.

The number of unruly passengers in the United States has skyrocketed in recent years, reaching a record of nearly 6,000 incidents in 2021, according to FAA figures.

That number dropped to about 2,000 incidents in 2022 and 2023.

(With information from AFP and AP)