American Airlines: Fearless passengers tackled man to floor duct-taping his feet after he tried to open emergency door mid-flight

Fearless passengers on board an American Airlines flight banded together to restrain a fellow traveller who reportedly attempted to open an emergency door mid-air. The incident occurred on Tuesday (20 February) during a flight from Albuquerque to Chicago sparking chaos among passengers and crew.

Video footage obtained by Fox News and shared on social media showed the tense moments as passengers intervened to restrain the man. The video showed the passenger on the floor of the plane, with his feet duct-taped. Later footage shared on social media showed police escorting the man off the plane after it made an emergency landing back in Albuquerque.

One passenger, known as The Wonton Don (@DonnieDoesWorld) wrote on X, formerly Twitter: "30 minutes after departing Albuquerque I was shaken out of my Panda Express and Tequila induced stupor by a man trying to aggressively open the airplane door four rows back. Me and five other dudes had to wrestle him into the aisle, duct tape his legs, and throw flexi-cuffs on him.” 

Another passenger, Lay Z (@layzdubz), said on X it was "one of the scariest days" of her life. She posted: "This guy opened the emergency exit door. People were tackling him down and put him in zip ties. Had to emergency land back."

American Airlines confirmed that Flight 1219 returned to Albuquerque shortly after takeoff due to the disturbance involving a disruptive passenger. The airline assured that the flight landed safely and local law enforcement met the aircraft upon arrival.