A person was arrested after opening an emergency exit of a plane on the runway at O’Hare International Airport and sliding down the wing early Thursday, police said.
United Airlines officials said the strange incident happened after landing on Flight 2874 from San Diego to Chicago.
The plane was approaching a gate when the person used the emergency exit to walk onto the wing around 4:30 a.m., Chicago police said.
The individual slid down the wing and onto the airfield, police said.
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A recording obtained by NBC 5 of Air Traffic Control can be heard saying "We had to stop short of gate Bravo 3. Somebody pulled the rear right over wing exit. Someone in seat 21 Bravo has exited the aircraft and is on the ramp."
Cell phone video taken from the plane shows an emergency exit row of three seats with the emergency exit door opened. One passenger is seated in the middle seat and one is seated the aisle seat.
"Our ground crew stopped the individual outside of the aircraft, and the person is now with law enforcement," United Airlines said in a statement.
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"The plane then arrived at the gate and all passengers deplaned safely. The safety of our customers and crew is our highest priority.”
Officers arrived on the scene and placed the person into custody, according to police. Charges are pending.
