As their flight taxied for takeoff, a group of three travellers – a man, woman and their dog – had second thoughts and suddenly opened an emergency exit door, deployed the emergency slide and escaped onto the tarmac.
The dog is innocent, but its owners have between them been charged with several offences, including criminal mischief, trespassing and reckless endangerment, after the bizarre incident at New York’s LaGuardia airport.
Antonio Murdock, 31, and Brianna Greco, 27, were arrested shortly after they reached the tarmac, the New York Times reported. The paper said the couple boarded the plane, a Delta flight bound for Atlanta, but became agitated and switched seats several times, accompanied by “a large service dog”.
“As flight 462 began to taxi out to a runway, the man stood up, ignoring a flight attendant’s order to sit, saying that he had post-traumatic stress disorder,” the Times described a witness as saying.
As the plane then slowed to halt, the man “forced open a cabin door, activating an emergency slide, and then he, his female companion and their dog slid their way out of the plane,” the paper reported.
The three departing passengers were quickly arrested. Murdock is in custody and Greco is on bail. Their dog, reportedly a Great Dane named Rain, is being looked after at an animal shelter.
The plane, an Airbus A321, returned to the gate, passengers were taken off and rebooked on other flights.
Written by Peter Needham
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