On Saturday, passengers on an American Airlines flight had to be deplaned on a taxiway after the pilot and crew suspected a passenger of having some type of explosive device.
American Airlines flight 4817 made an emergency landing at New York’s LaGuardia Airport around 3p. All passengers on the plane were immediately evacuated on the taxiway, causing lots of chaos and even leaving some injured and bloodied from the rush of trying to get off.
“American Eagle flight 4817, operated by Republic Airways with service from Indianapolis to New York (LGA) deplaned on the taxiway at LGA due to a potential security issue. The aircraft landed safely, and all customers deplaned without incident,” American Airlines said in a statement.
According to one unnamed passenger on the flight, a woman could be heard telling an unidentified male passenger, “don’t do that, don’t do that.” As of now, there is no word on what the woman was referring to, but it is said to have triggered the panic on the airplane.
“We landed really hard and then out of nowhere people were screaming in the back of the airplane,” the unidentified passenger said. “Some guy apparently may have had a bomb on him. It was a suspicion of a bomb, and then everyone was just shoving and pushing, jumping out of the airplane. They launched a slide. People were falling off the slide left and right. They were bleeding. It was crazy.”
A video surfaced of the events that unfolded once police arrived at the taxiway, and the alleged suspect was detained. The man could be seen face down on the ground as police searched him. The plane was also searched, but no threats were found.
According to ABC News 7, the man will not face charges and the incident is being classified as a ‘misunderstanding.’