A passenger suffering an apparent “mental health emergency” popped an overwing emergency exit on a Southwest plane in New Orleans and jumped to the ramp Sunday evening. Airport police were called to the gate after ground personnel detained the passenger. No one was hurt but the passenger was described as being “incoherent.”
“When deputies made contact with the man, they found he was incoherent and not fully aware of his surroundings,” a news release from the police said. He was still in the hospital on Monday for evaluation. Southwest said everyone did everything right in the incident. “We commend our flight and ground crews for their swift action and apologize to our Customers for their inconvenience,” Southwest Airlines said in an email to USA TODAY. The plane was ready to push so passengers had to be put on another aircraft for their flight to Atlanta and Baltimore.
“Mental health emergency” also known as, a breakdown, manic episode, etc
Sad
“Shrooms”
… and he was doing so well. Didn’t take his socks off even once.
It’s interesting that he was coherent enough to get to the airport, get through security, check in, line up in the Southwest boarding system and get on the plane, but then becomes incoherent? I wonder what touched him off? Maybe the whole process of modern air travel?
You win the comments, John 🙂 Squared.
No-one would get “touched off” if the rules simple stated “once thrown off, never back on” unless you post a 10,000 behavior bond and have your 1st class medical certificate at check in.
Another Youtuber / Tik-Tok “Challenge” act–
As John Mc stated above – ” It’s interesting that he was coherent enough to get to the airport, get through { TSA } security, check in at the airline counter, {baggage check in? }; line up in the Southwest boarding system and get on the plane, but then becomes incoherent?”
It was the final straw of not being able to do anything other than sit still, belted into a seat, with the prospect of no escape that probably tipped him into action. All the previous actions involved prior to being seated were sufficiently distracting to allow him to “hold it together”.
Instead of wisecracks, perhaps thinking of what has happened to this individual to leave him this vulnerable to distress, would be more appropriate comments.
Like I said below, it’s an act the perpetrator thought he could pull off and did. He needed some attention. Social media is promoting this sort of activity for click bait and it’s working. That said, I was called to the assistance of a passenger a few years ago who clearly was in a postictal seizure state and I initiated transport to the hospital after landing. She was obviously not a would-be actress.
” Yeah my Taylorcraft engine just quit. I’m bailing out. “
Over 30 years of medical practice I’ve observed an element of opportunicity in many of these types of events. E.g. otherwise “demented” pts who only mistreat female nurses in private. Acute psychosis occuring specifically in the ER where no one will kick their @ss for threatening hospital personnel. The wing walker here obviously needed a safe stage for his act and he found one.