“It was the most bizarre thing I’ve ever experienced!” This is how passenger Gillian Sheldon describes the scenes that took place on board the US airline Delta machine. Around 10:40 a.m. (local time) last Saturday, the Boeing 737 had already left the gate of Los Angeles International Airport.

Destination of Delta domestic flight 1714 was Seattle. On the way to the runway, there were the usual safety instructions on the plane and a request to buckle up. But a passenger rose from his seat instead. The man with glasses, a beard and a belly immediately received instructions from a flight attendant.

Eyewitness Gillian Sheldon sat in the front area and describes the scene to the TV station “NBC”. The flight attendant looked at the passenger and said, “You have to go back to your seat!” According to Sheldon, the passenger was clearly excited. He seemed nervous and scared, freaked out for some reason. Then he screamed:

What happened next apparently happened in a matter of seconds. Suddenly the man fell in the direction of the emergency exit and tampered with the door. The flight attendant shouted, “You can’t open this door!” The man managed to open the emergency exit. The Delta employee tried to grab the passenger, shouted again: “You can’t open this door!” But too late – the man was able to escape via the evacuation slide, which has now been extended.

Passenger Gillian Sheldon filmed the temporary end of this insane action with her cell phone:

The reluctant passenger was overpowered by Delta employees while he was still on the runway, and the airport police who rushed to the scene were able to take the man with the balding head and striped sweater into custody.

By the way: Because of the pullover, the network is hailing malice. Twitter user Lisa makes fun of the look, feeling reminded of a horror film character: “Looks like Freddy Krueger 2.0”. User Nina tweeted derogatory: “Cheap flights, cheap people”.

But now we need your opinion:

The Boeing had to go back to the gate and the passengers were rebooked on other flights by Delta Air. During the incident, the passengers did not feel exposed to any danger, but were rather surprised, explained Gillian Sheldon in retrospect. She quipped to Fox 11, “I’m just glad it didn’t happen while we were in the air, otherwise it would have been very different.”

Karla Rodriguez of the Los Angeles Airport Police said that “due to the circumstances, the FBI has been notified.” Her colleague Devin Feldman added on Fox 11 that “the person was transported to a local hospital to have their mental health checked.”

If you go on a trip… Here is another bizarre airplane story: