A plane passenger allegedly attacked a flight attendant and opened an emergency exit before jumping onto the tarmac below.
The man plunged 11.5ft from the jet, while the plane was taxiing for takeoff.
The passenger suddenly got up from his seat and made his way to the front of the cabin where he allegedly tried to open the emergency exit.
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A flight attendant intervened, but was allegedly assaulted before the passenger successfully opened the door.
He jumped to the runway below, while the engines of the Airbus A320 were still running.
The incident took place as Iberia flight IB578 left the gate at around 5.20pm last Friday (7 Feb).
The flight was due to depart from Paris Orly Airport in France for Barajas Airport in the Spanish capital, Madrid.
Emergency responders rushed to detain the passenger on the tarmac.
Despite the seriousness of the situation, the flight still departed for Madrid later that evening.
The aircraft arrived in Madrid just before midnight after a delay of four and a half hours.
The three-year-old plane was then temporarily taken out of service before resuming operations on Saturday afternoon.
It’s currently unclear what caused the passenger to jump from the plane and what his current health condition is.
It’s also unknown if Iberia plans to press charges against him for allegedly assaulting the flight attendant and delaying the flight.
The investigation into the man’s actions is ongoing.
It was the second time in three months that a passenger had opened an emergency exit before takeoff on an Iberia flight, as reported by Need To Know.
A nervous passenger deployed an emergency slide just as the Iberia Express flight was about to depart Ibiza for Madrid in December.
On that occasion, cabin crew members were able to stop the traveller from leaping down the slide.
Iberia has been approached for comment.
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