Watch as passenger opens Southwest Airlines plane's emergency exit and climbs on wing in New Orleans

A passenger was taken to hospital after he opened a plane's emergency exit and climbed onto the wing. The 38-year-old man, who is believed to have been suffering from a "mental health emergency", jumped to the ground and ran across the tarmac before being captured by staff near the plane in New Orleans.

The Southwest Airlines flight had not yet taken off from Louis Armstrong International Airport when the incident happened on Sunday evening (November 26). The airline told NBC News that the passenger was taken to hospital for evaluation and there are no criminal charges.

Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office said in a statement: "There is no indication that the man left anything on the plane, nor was he found in possession of any weapons of any type. He is not expected to face any criminal charges locally, however, the investigation has been referred to federal authorities. No one was injured during the incident."

The airline said that after a brief delay, the flight eventually departed to Atlanta and continued to its final destination of Baltimore. “We commend our flight and ground crews for their swift action and apologize to our customers for their inconvenience,” the airline told NBC.

The TikTok creator who shared the video, who goes by @zedweb08, said it was a "very traumatic event". As the passengers filed back off the plane to safety, he could be heard in the footage saying "I never dreamed I would be going through nothing like this". Addressing the camera, he later added: "That scared the s*** out of me."