Man on plane leaving Milwaukee tried to open door mid-flight, passengers duct tape and pin him down until landing
By Kathryn Merck
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MILWAUKEE (WDJT) — A man from the Dallas area tells CBS 58 he was one of the passengers who came together to restrain a disruptive passenger on a flight from Milwaukee to Dallas-Fort Worth on Tuesday, Nov. 11.
According to documents from the airport’s report of the incident, Abdul-Al-Jabbar Oloruntoba Olaiya of Canada told a female flight attendant he wanted to exit the aircraft mid-flight.
Doug McCright, a passenger on the plane, said he could tell something wasn’t going quite right with the conversation.
“I could hear her tell him ‘Sir, you need to go back to your seat’ and he was not cooperating,” McCright said.
McCright said he and at least five other passengers had to duct tape restrain the man from opening a door on the aircraft to try to leave. Once the plan landed around 10 a.m. the man was taken away for a mental evaluation.
“He was bound and determined he wanted off that plane, and I was bound and determined he wasn’t getting off that plane,” McCright said. “Everything was happening so fast it was so chaotic.”
Airport report documents say that the flight attendant’s left wrist and neck were injured during the altercation. McCright said he had some scrapes on his face, but he feels his actions were worth it to protect people from harm while the plane was in the air.
“You just can’t make something like this up,” McCright said. “I’m a little stiff and sore today, but I’m fine. It just needed to be done.”
“The safety and security of our customers and team members is our top priority and we thank our team members and customers for managing a difficult situation,” said Caroline Barksdale with American Airlines in a statement about the situation.
Communications staff at the Dallas-Fort Worth Airport said in a statement that officers took the person into custody and the investigation with the FBI is ongoing.
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