An Ohio-bound Southwest Airlines plane was forced to make an emergency landing in Arkansas after an unruly passenger tried to open the door mid-flight.
"Jesus told me to open the door": A Southwest Airlines passenger was arrested after trying to open the plane's door mid-flight. https://t.co/cm6vJsh249
— Tiket2 Air Traveler Club (@tiket2) December 2, 2022
34-year-old Elom Agbegninou was on Flight 192 from Houston to Ohio when she tried to open the emergency exit while the plane was 37,000 feet or 11.2 kilometers in the air. She also grew frustrated as flight attendants prevented her from reaching the aircraft’s rear door.
Even as the flight attendants restrained her, Agbegninou still forced her way and attempted to pull the emergency exit handle. When someone said, "she's trying to open the door," another passenger tried to help the airline staff restrain Agbegninou. However, she bit the passenger on the inner thigh and refused to let go until the passenger forced their fingers into her jaw.
Agbegninou then began hitting her head on the plane floor and said, "Jesus told her to fly to Ohio, and Jesus told her to open the plane door," as stated by documents released by the US District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas.
Although the flight attendants managed to restrain Agbegninou by pinning her down with the help of other passengers, the incident forced Flight 192 to make an emergency landing at Bill and Hillary Clinton National Airport in Little Rock, Arkansas.
Once the aircraft landed safely on the ground, Agbegninou was taken away by police officers while the passenger she bit was treated with hepatitis shots and antibiotics. The bite victim reported feeling anxiety and PTSD after the event. Ding Yu, one of the passengers on the flight, recorded a video of the unrest and recounted how terrified he was.
“They were rushing to the back of the plane to help. I was thinking about the worst case, probably that plane will crash, but I know it’s a very low probability,” he told Fox News Digital.
After the commotion and her subsequent arrest, Agbegninou spoke to authorities, saying that she left home without telling her husband early Saturday without any luggage. She hoped to visit a family friend in Maryland who was working as a pastor.
She also told officials that she "had not flown in a long time,” and Agbegninou said she couldn’t breathe on the plane, which prompted her to get up from her seat and reach for the emergency exit. Agbegninou remembered trying to open the emergency exit and biting the passenger who tackled her because she "became very anxious and normally would not have done those things."
Agbegninou was charged with assault “within maritime and territorial jurisdiction” as well as interference with the flight attendants, according to the criminal complaint against her.
