Man suffering from panic attack tries to open door of BA aircraft mid-air

A man travelling from Heathrow to Riyadh tried to open the door of a flight mid-air on Monday night. He was suffering from a panic attack and was later stopped by many of his co-passengers including the brother of the British Professional Boxer Dillian Whyte. The incident occurred just about an hour before the BA flight 263 was due to land in the Saudi Capital. The man who was clearly anxious tried to pull the lever on the door at the rear of the plane. He was continuously screaming “I want to get out” in broken English. 

The man was restrained by his co-passengers and airline staff

Whyte, who was sleeping in his nearby economy seat was woken up by the commotion. He immediately rushed down along with other members of the fighter’s entourage to rescue the agitated man. Around six other air stewards, one of them carrying handcuffs rushed down the plane to help. Finally, after a few heated moments, the man calmed down and returned to his seat. Another Boxer Joshua’s mother Yeta Odusanya was also on the plane. Other people present on the flight were all reportedly athletes too who were there to promote the airlines.

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Whyte, while speaking to International media said, “It was like something out of a movie. When I got there he was shouting ‘I want to get out’ in broken English. I managed to grab him and was preparing to slam him hard if necessary but myself and the steward could see he wasn’t quite right in the head so I held him and tried to calm him down. Eventually, it worked.”

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Describing the incident a British Airways flight attendant said,“ I’ve never seen anything like that before.” He also confirmed that the incident has been reported to the authorities. A spokesperson from the Airline agency said,“ Our cabin crew cared for a customer who suffered from a panic attack during the flight. We are sorry for any concern this has caused our customers.” The Airline agency also confirmed that it was impossible for the aircraft door to open mid-air.