Two US military veterans jumped to the rescue on an ultra-long-haul All Nippon Airways flight from Tokyo to Houston on Saturday after an unruly passenger who was behaving strangely attempted to open an emergency exit door as the plane was flying at 35,000 feet over Washington State.
ANA Air Flight Forced to Divert After Midair Disturbance
The terrifying incident occurred around nine hours into the eleven-hour journey on All Nippon Airways flight NH-114, which departed Tokyo Haneda at around 10:50 am on Saturday for what should have been a routine 12-hour flight to Houston.
With most of the passengers onboard the Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner still snoozing before the pre-arrival meal service got underway, eyewitnesses describe how the perpetrator suddenly leaped up from his seat.
Some of those sitting close to the suspect initially thought he was moving so quickly because he was feeling sick, but he then suddenly made a move for the emergency exit door.
Thankfully, two US military veterans were on the flight and saw what was unfolding. They quickly jumped into action and pulled the man away from the door before pinning him to a nearby seat while flight attendants rushed to restrain him with Ziploc ties.
At this point, the plane was flying high above Washington state so the pilots decided to make an emergency diversion back to Seattle because the man’s behavior was causing such a massive threat to the safety of the plane.
A Second Unruly Passenger Escorted Off the Plane
The plane, with as many as 375 passengers onboard, landed safely at Seattle Tacoma Airport, but at this point, a passenger called Ashley said another passenger started acting strangely and “caused a bit of a scene.”
Law enforcement arrived and managed to escort both men off the plane without incident.
In a statement, a spokesperson for the airport said that the main perpetrator had suffered what was described as a ‘medical episode’ and was transported to a local hospital for further evaluation.
Can Someone Really Open a Plane Door Mid-Flight?
I don’t want to scare anyone, but the answer to this question isn’t necessarily a straight no.
In most cases, the emergency exit door of an airplane cannot be opened at high altitude because of the pressure difference between the thinner outside air and the pressurized cabin air that effectively creates a plug seal, holding the door firmly in place.
Additionally, aircraft like the Boeing 777 and Boeing 787 Dreamliner have speed locks that automatically lock the door shut as the plane starts to accelerate along the runway for takeoff.
Some aircraft, such as the Airbus A320 family, do not have speed locks and at lower altitudes where there is little difference in pressure between the outside and the cabin, the emergency exit door can be opened inflight.
This was most famously illustrated in May 2023 when a man on an Asiana Airlines Airbus A321 managed to open an unguarded emergency exit door as the plane was on final descent for landing.
Not an Isolated Incident — A Growing Trend
What occurred on ANA Flight 114 on May 24 is just one example in a growing trend of unruly passengers attempting or even succeeding in opening an emergency exit door inflight.
- April 2025: A man on a Sydney-bound flight allegedly tried to open the emergency exit door on two separate occasions before passengers and cabin crew wrestled him to the ground and managed to restrain him.
- March 2025: Flight attendants on a PlusUltra flight from Madrid to the Venezuelan capital, Caracas, scrambled to restrain a man who leapt up from his seat and tried to open the emergency exit of the Airbus A330 widebody jet as it flew high above the Atlantic Ocean.
- November 2024: A man on a Korean Air flight from Bangkok to Seoul was subdued after he suddenly lunged at an emergency exit and attempted to open the door as the plane was cruising at 37,000 feet during the four-and-a-half-hour flight to the Korean capital.
- July 2024: A man attempted to open an emergency exit on two separate occasions on an American Airlines flight from Seattle to Dallas Fort Worth
- November 2023: A 26-year-old woman who was allegedly ‘high on meth’ on a Korean Air flight between New York JFK and the South Korean capital Seoul allegedly attempted to open an emergency exit several times before flight attendants managed to subdue
Following the Asiana Airlines incident, South Korea even introduced new aviation rules that require airlines to inform passengers that they must not attempt to open an emergency exit or tamper with the door.
What Happens to Passengers Who Try This?
What happens to passengers accused of attempting to open an airplane emergency exit door can vary from country to country, but one thing is for sure, and that is that this type of crime is universally taken very seriously.
In Saturday’s incident, it appears that the suspect was suffering some type of mental health crisis, but in the United States, offenders can be charged with attempted damage to an aircraft under 18 U.S.C. § 32.
If found guilty, perpetrators can be imprisoned for up to 20 years and face massive fines.
Offenders could also be pursued by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and slapped with civil penalties of up to $37,000 per violation of federal aviation regulations.
It goes without saying that unruly passengers are also likely to face being blacklisted from the airline, although US airlines have failed to introduce an industry-wide ‘no-fly list’ for disruptive passengers.
11 or 12 hour flights are long haul, not ultra long haul which are classed as flights 16 hours or longer.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ultra_long-haul