[ad_1]
A Delta flight from New York City, United States, was stopped after a Florida couple traveling with a Great Dane puppy fled the plane with the pet using an emergency slide.
The incident involving Antonio Murdock and Brianna Greco occurred on Monday (NZT Tuesday) as the plane was leaving for a flight from LaGuardia Airport to Atlanta, spokesman Morgan Durrant said.
Witnesses reported seeing a panicked Murdock open the front cabin door and jump using the emergency conduit leading to the runway. Greco followed quickly with the puppy in tow.
Murdock, 31, and Greco, 27, were taken into custody on charges that include criminal antics and breaking and entering, among others. Authorities said Murdock was awaiting arraignment, while Greco was released with a desk appearance ticket. The dog was turned over to an animal shelter.
123RF
The incident occurred on a Delta flight at New York’s LaGuardia Airport (file photo).
READ MORE:
* A rare manufacturing defect caused a fiery failure in the American Airlines engine
* American plane collides with birds and forces it to make an emergency landing.
* American Airlines jet bursts into flames at Chicago O’Hare airport
Prosecutors had no information on an attorney for Murdock.
Passenger Brian Plummer said The New York Times that before leaving the plane, the couple had changed seats several times on a flight that was not full. The man eventually stood up and ignored a flight attendant’s order to take a seat for takeoff, telling the attendant that he suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder, Plummer added.
“If I sit down, I’ll freak out,” the man said, according to Plummer.
The aircraft was forced to return to the gate where the remaining customers got off and were then placed on alternate flights.
The incident was reminiscent of the 2010 case of Steven Slater, a JetBlue flight attendant who activated a parachute during a tantrum on a plane landing at Kennedy Airport. He entered the public address system, cursed a passenger who he claimed treated him rudely, grabbed a beer and slipped onto the runway.
Slater was sentenced to one year of probation after completing a court-ordered treatment program.
