A Southwest Airlines passenger caused panic after jumping out of an emergency exit and attempting to steal a truck, local media reports

A Southwest Airlines passenger caused chaos as others had to deplane when he jumped from an emergency exit as it prepared to depart.

• A video shared online shows a man being dragged from a truck by airport workers.
• WWL-TV reported he jumped from a plane's emergency exit, and was arrested by police.
• The Southwest Airlines flight departed three hours later than scheduled.

A Southwest Airlines flight descended into panic after a passenger jumped out of an emergency exit while it was preparing to depart from New Orleans on Sunday night, local news outlet WWL-TV reported.

Videos shared online appear to show passengers rushing to deplane across the jet bridge amid the confusion, before airport workers drag a man from the cab of a truck on the tarmac.

According to WWL-TV, the man — who has not been named — attempted to drive away in the service truck.

The Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office confirmed to WWL-TV that a man was arrested, and later escorted to a hospital for evaluation.

Witnesses said that the man had opened an overwing emergency exit, before jumping down from the narrowbody jet and running across the tarmac, per WWL-TV.

The Boeing 737 MAX 8 airliner departed Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport for Atlanta just over three hours later than scheduled.

Southwest did not immediately respond to Business Insider's request for comment, sent outside regular US working hours.

Sunday's incident is not the first time a passenger has jumped from a plane's emergency exit this year.

In July, a 44-year-old man climbed out of a Sun Country Airlines plane at Minneapolis-St Paul Airport to try to avoid being arrested by police waiting for him at the gate. He hid in a truck for 45 minutes before being found.