Horror moment crazed passenger tries to OPEN plane door during packed flight at 35,000ft as others rush to tackle him
THIS is the terrifying moment a crazed passenger was tackled by other flyers after he tried to open a plane door mid-flight.
The shocking footage shows a man being restrained after he attempted to pull the emergency exit lever while at 35,000 feet.
The man is then seen lying on the floor with his hands tied behind his back after being restrained by the cabin crew.
The Plus Ultra flight 701 was heading from Madrid, Spain, to Caracas , Venezuela on 28 February when the incident took place.
The Airbus A330 was about halfway through its journey, flying high over the Atlantic Ocean when the man became “restless”.
A Plus Ultra spokesperson said: “A passenger began to feel restless, annoying the person in the next seat with shouts and slapping him while he was asleep.
“The crew acted quickly, calming the situation between the two and relocating the passenger to another seat where he could not disturb anyone.
“Moments later, this individual suddenly went to one of the doors of the plane trying to manipulate it.
“Immediately, our cabin crew subdued the passenger and, following the action protocol, secured him in the back of the plane until he reached the destination.
“At all times he was accompanied by two people from the crew, lying on the ground and attended to avoid any possible altercation.”
It is unclear exactly what prompted the passenger to try to open the plane door.
Despite the scare, the plane ended up landing at its destination ahead of schedule.
But one of the cabin crew suffered a partial fracture of the fibula which will reportedly put him out of action for a few weeks.
The man was reportedly detained after the plane landed in Caracas.
It is nearly impossible to open modern plane doors after they have reached around 10,000 feet.
This is because the difference between the internal cabin pressure and the outside air pressure effectively seals the doors.
Some aircraft have a special flight lock feature that mechanically closes the door after the aircraft reaches a certain speed.
But there have been reported incidents of passengers managing to open an emergency exit during a flight.
A traveller on an Asiana Airlines Airbus A321 managed to open the door while the plane was coming in to land in South Korea back in 2023.