Man on flight from Brasil to Panama is restrained by other passengers after trying to open plane door in mid air
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The footage, filmed aboard Copa Airlines flight CM204 from Brasilia in Brazil to Panama City in Panama at around 8am on Tuesday, November 5, shows the man being restrained by other passengers after he reportedly tried to open the plane door 30 minutes before landing.
Other footage shows military officers boarding the aircraft and leading the man away in handcuffs with his face bloodied.
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Hide AdPassengers Marcelo Ribeiro and Everaldo Torres had restrained the man after he rushed to the back of the plane with a plastic knife from his food tray and tried to take a flight attendant hostage with the aim of opening the plane door, according to Brazilian media reports. The passengers, helped by other men and women on the flight, had to fight the man to stop him from opening the door.


Photojournalist Cristiano Carvalho, 51, was on the plane and recorded the moment the passenger was restrained.
He said: "He went past the back emergency door after the warning. Then he started moving forward and trying to open it. Then a flight attendant started screaming, and another tried to hold him back, but couldn’t because he was too strong."
He added that all the passengers looked back, trying to understand the situation, and that they went after the man, who was resisting. He said: “They beat him a lot until he almost lost consciousness."
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Hide AdCopa Airlines said in a statement: "On Copa Airlines flight CM204 from Brasília to Panama today, November 5, there was a situation during the landing phase in which an unruly passenger tried to open one of the aircraft doors. The crew acted quickly and, with the assistance of some passengers, applied the necessary safety protocols to control the situation until landing in Panama."
The airline added that when the plane arrived in Panama, “the national security team entered the aircraft and removed the passenger, taking him to the judicial authorities.”
The airline also said: "Thanks to the professionalism of the crew, the safety of the flight and passengers was protected."
Story: NewsX
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