A passenger opened a door and jumped out of a taxiing plane.
The incident happened on December 4, 2021, at approximately 6:30 AM MST (13:30 GMT). The Southwest Airlines Boeing 737, which has just arrived at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport (PHX), was taxiing when the passenger jumped from a rear galley door and ran along the runway.
He then entered an airport fire station where he locked himself in a dorm room. However, according to Phoenix Fire Department, he unlocked the door as soon as firefighters asked, Business Insider reports.
The passenger was treated for a leg injury and taken to hospital.
Despite the incident, the airplane continued to the gate where the remaining passengers were safely de-boarded.
The suspect has been identified as 30-year-old Daniel Ramirez. According to ABC15, he had called his family before the flight and said somebody was “after him” and “tried to kill him”.
“We were on the phone with him for seven hours. He was paranoid saying someone’s going to get me. Someone’s going to kill me,” a relative of the passenger told ABC15.
According to doctors from the hospital where Ramirez was taken, he may have been undergoing a mental health crisis.