Scottish man arrested after opening aircraft door

Apparently fed up with a tarmac delay, he tried to leave the plane through an emergency exit.

Travel Insurance News - 02/04/2009

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The incident occurred on board a Delta Air Lines plane that had landed at New York’s JFK airport, according to testimony heard in court.

Robert McDonald, a Glasgow resident, was arrested and charged with criminal tampering and also reckless endangerment after he opened an emergency exit door on the plane that had been grounded for an extended period due to poor weather conditions.

Prosecutors said that he was stopped by flight attendants before he could fully open the hatch and activate the emergency chute.

The Delta had arrived from Rome and was waiting to take off for its continuing service to Las Vegas. It was reported that the plane had pulled back from its gate on Sunday evening but was delayed for more than two hours due to traffic congestion and bad weather, which are common problems in the New York area.

At around 7:45pm, after more than two and a half hours of waiting on the tarmac, McDonald, traveling with his wife, “lost his cool”, prosecutors said.

The District Attorney, Richard Brown, commented: "Apparently, the defendant wanted to get off the plane, so he opened the emergency exit door." McDonald could face up to a year in prison if he is convicted.

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