Police: Passenger Opens Emergency Exit, Uses Slide To Leave Plane Parked At Gate At Newark Airport
NEWARK (CBSNewYork) -- A passenger was arrested after police say he used an emergency exit and slide to leave a plane he had just boarded while the aircraft was still parked at the gate at Newark Liberty International Airport.
Port Authority police say 25-year-old Troy Fattun of Micronesia is facing charges in connection with incident, which happened Sunday night on United flight 1640, which was supposed to be heading from Newark to Tampa, Florida.
Police say that Fattun had a discussion with the airline crew and then went to the back of the plane as other passengers were boarding, opened the emergency exit door, deployed the emergency slide and then went down it, CBS2's Janelle Burrell reported.
Investigators say he was immediately detained by airline personnel as well as Port Authority police and arrested soon after. They say that he did have a ticket for the flight.
The incident caused the flight to be delayed for about five hours. Passengers were eventually put on another plane.
No injuries were reported.
Fattun is being held at Essex County jail. Charges are pending, according to the Port Authority Police. So far there's no word on why he allegedly did it.
