A flight attendant broke his leg restraining a passenger who tried to open a door mid-flight

The incident occurred on a Plus Ultra Líneas Aéreas flight.

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• A passenger tried to open an emergency exit on a flight from Madrid to Venezuela.
• One of the flight attendants fractured his leg while intervening, the airline told Business Insider.
• The passenger was handed over to authorities on landing in Caracas, it added.

After a passenger tried to open an emergency exit in midair, a flight attendant who intervened is off work for weeks with a fractured leg.

Plus Ultra Líneas Aéreas Flight 701 was traveling from Madrid to Caracas, Venezuela, on Saturday when a passenger began disturbing other travelers.

An airline spokesperson told Business Insider the man was slapping and shouting at the person asleep next to him.

"The crew acted quickly, calming the situation between the two," they said, adding that the disruptive passenger was moved to another seat.

Moments later, he tried to open one of the plane's emergency exits, the airline said.

A video shared on social media appears to show cabin crew scrambling toward the man to restrain him while concerned passengers look on.

During the incident, one of the flight attendants suffered a partial fracture of his fibula, a lower leg bone, the Plus Ultra spokesperson said. He has been treated, but the injury will keep him off work for a few weeks, they added.

The unruly passenger was subdued in the back of the plane, accompanied by two crew members, until they reached Caracas, where he was handed over to local authorities, the airline said.

It wasn't clear how far into the eight-and-a-half-hour flight the incident occurred. Data from FlightRadar24 shows the flight landed in Caracas around 30 minutes ahead of schedule.

"In no case was the safety of the flight or those on board compromised," the spokesperson said.

While somebody reaching for an emergency exit is frightening, it is effectively impossible to open one midflight.

To prevent problems like hypoxia or altitude sickness, planes are pressurized to an altitude of 8,000 feet or below. That means the cabin's pressure is much higher than outside, producing huge forces that keep the doors sealed shut.

Passengers attempting to open plane doors are rare but not unheard of. Last month, an Iberia passenger was accused of assaulting a flight attendant and opening an emergency exit before jumping onto the taxiway while a flight was preparing to take off.

In 2023, four South Korean airlines signed up for a program that prioritizes exit row seats for uniformed personnel, including soldiers and airline workers. Passengers would also be warned in the pre-flight briefing not to try to open the emergency exit.

The measures were introduced after an Asiana Airlines passenger opened a door at an altitude of 700 feet as the plane came in to land.

Nobody was seriously injured, but nine people were taken to hospital after suffering from suspected hyperventilation, and a 33-year-old passenger was arrested, The Guardian reported.

Read the original article on Business Insider

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