(CNN) – One of the two passengers, who got off a Delta flight with his dog because the plane felt taxed on the runway, needed to go or lose control, according to a statement issued Tuesday.
Antonio Murdoch, a 21-year-old from Florida, and Brina Greco, a 23-year-old, have been charged with third-degree criminal misconduct, according to Lenis Valens, a spokeswoman for the New York and New Jersey Port Authority Authority.
Murdoch was charged with second-degree criminal mischief and second-degree reckless endangerment, Valence said.
During Murdoch’s arrest in New York City Criminal Court in Queens on Tuesday, officials said a flight attendant on the plane during the incident told him she saw a male and female passenger on the plane.
According to the flight attendant’s statement, she overheard the male passenger, whom officers identified as Murdoch, say, “I need to get off the plane. I don’t want to sit here. I’m popping the door.”
Murdoch then allegedly ran in front of the flight attendant and opened a door marked “Emergency Exit”, causing the attached slide to be deployed and mounted. The man then picked up his dog and walked out with the help of a statement, according to the statement.
The female passenger, identified as Greco, followed Murdoch at the bottom of the slide during the accused. The pair and the dog then boarded a taxiway from the plane.
Officers later apprehended him in a restricted taxiway area, as stated during the arrangement.
The flight attendant informed officers that there was no situation on the plane that required Murdoch to open the door immediately, according to the arrangement procedure.
Murdoch’s attorney, Jubril Oladira, did not comment when contacted by CNN. CNN is trying to reach out to Greeks for comment, and it is unclear whether it is a legal representation.
Casey Johnson, a Manhattan resident of Panama City Beach, Florida, told CNN that he turned the meetings with the couple and their dog at the gate.
Johnson said the couple was pleasant and did not see anything out of the ordinary during their interaction.
He called the man “soft-spoken.”
Murdoch was asked to change rows with Johnson, so he said he could keep the last wing of the plane to accommodate his dog.
The aircraft was mostly full except for the open middle seats as per Delta’s Covid-19 policy. Minutes later, however, the couple again proceeded several rows, Jones said.
“I really remember thinking, ‘Well, you guys just told me to turn the rows with you because you wanted to be behind, and now all of a sudden you decided you had to go ahead,'” he said.
Johnson, who was wearing headphones while paying taxes on the plane Termac, was later spotted.
“And the next thing I know, when we’re moving, I look up, and I just look … I see a lot of people standing, and I see four people running to the front of the plane. And at this point “it must be the same person as the passenger, trying to stop the person,” Jones said, noting that he did not witness the pair and the dog, as they were jumping off the plane, though he Saw the plane open near the emergency exit cockpit at the front.
Johnson said the pilot told passengers over cabin speakers that the slide had been adjusted and the door had been opened, but did not say the passengers had fled.
Johnson said the plane sat on the starboard for more than an hour before returning to the gate.
Durdlata spokesman Morgan Durant said the plane returned to the gate after Murdoch and the Greeks got out of the plane and evacuated customers normally.
The airline was able to accommodate the remaining passengers on an alternate flight, he said.
“The maintenance technicians have evaluated the aircraft, and (it) is due to return to service this evening,” Durant said. He said Delta could not comment further.
Murdoch is due to return to court on February 9, and Greco is due to appear in court on March 21, the Queen’s District Attorney’s Office said.
The dog, which came with the two, was taken to a Brooklyn zoo, said Valence, a spokesman for the New York Port Authority and a New Jersey spokesman.
Gray was provided with a receipt to retrieve the dog, Valence said.
In a statement, the Federal Aviation Administration confirmed the incident and the arrest and referred additional questions to Delta and local officials.
CNN’s Ganesh Setti, Laura Lee, Holly Silverman and Elliott C.
.
