A teenage boy traveling alone opened an emergency door after his plane landed, slid down the wing and jumped onto a tarmac at San Francisco before shocked passengers could do anything to stop him, witnesses said.
The 17-year-old, a U.S. citizen, removed the door minutes after the Copa Airlines flight arrived from Central America, San Francisco Airport spokesman Doug Yakel said.
An airfield construction crew working nearby confronted the boy and held him until police arrived and arrested him. The teen, who appeared to be in emotional distress during the flight, was not injured, Yakel said.
Witnesses said the teen seemed fidgety and anxious throughout the seven-hour flight from Panama City, Panama, and that by the time passengers realized the door had been opened, he was already on the ground, running.
Sophia Gibson, of San Jose, California, said people sitting next to him were shocked when he jumped out of the plane and onto the wing.
Over-wing emergency exits are designed to be opened by passengers after the plane reaches a lower altitude to allow for an evacuation in case of an emergency. But that it is a federal law violation to open them without having been instructed to do so by the crew. AP
