Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Man jumps from moving plane at LA airport after trying to break into cockpit

Suspect is in custody following the incident

Danielle Zoellner
New York
Saturday 26 June 2021 14:31 EDT
Two incidents took place at LAX within two days of each other
Two incidents took place at LAX within two days of each other (AFP via Getty Images)

A passenger jumped out of a moving plane at Los Angeles International Airport after unsuccessfully trying to breach the cockpit, authorities said.

United Express flight 5365, operated by SkyWest, was leaving its gate at LAX around 7pm local time on Friday for Salt Lake City when a disturbance occurred inside the plane.

A man attempted to breach the cockpit door before successfully opening the service door of the plane and sliding down the emergency slide onto the tarmac.

Authorities took the man into custody where he was treated for non-threatening injuries before taking him to a hospital.

The disruption forced the plane to return to the gate where it was delayed for three hours before taking off after 10pm local time.

The FBI was investigating the incident.

No one else on board the aircraft was injured during the altercation.

But this came just one day after a driver crashed through a fence at the FedEx cargo facility and drove onto LAX’s runways.

Police chased the vehicle as it crossed through the airfield before they were able to detain the driver.

No one was injured during the incident but two runways were closed for a brief period.

The Associated Press contributed to this report

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in