A person was arrested early Thursday after he opened the emergency exit of a moving plane on the runway at O’Hare International Airport and walked out onto the wing, police said.
United Airlines officials confirmed that the incident occurred on flight 2874 from San Diego to Chicago.
The plane was approaching a gate when the person used the emergency exit to walk onto the wing around 4:30 a.m., Chicago police said.
The passenger then slid down the wing and onto the airfield, police said.
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A recording obtained by NBC Chicago of air traffic control can be heard saying "We had to stop short of gave Bravo 3. Somebody pulled the rear right over wing exit. Someone in seat 21 Bravo has exited the aircraft and is on the ramp."
Cellphone video taken from the plane shows an emergency exit row of three seats with the emergency exit door opened. One passenger is seated in the middle seat and one is seated in the aisle seat.
"Our ground crew stopped the individual outside of the aircraft, and the person is now with law enforcement," United Airlines said in a statement.
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"The plane then arrived at the gate and all passengers deplaned safely. The safety of our customers and crew is our highest priority.”
Officers arrived on the scene and placed the person into custody, according to police.
Charges are pending.
The Chicago Sun-Times wire contributed to this report.
