- The Washington Times - Friday, May 6, 2022

A United Airlines passenger opened the emergency exit as the plane was approaching the gate, walked onto the wing of the aircraft and slid down to the tarmac at O’Hare International Airport Thursday before he was arrested, Chicago police said.

Randy Davila, 57, of Escondido, California, was taken into custody without incident around 4:30 a.m. and charged with reckless conduct, a misdemeanor, police said in a statement.

Officials said Mr. Davila attempted to guide the plane to the terminal, according to The Associated Press.

United’s ground crew stopped the man, and all passengers from Flight 2478 exited the aircraft safely once the plane taxied to the gate, the airline said in a statement.

United Flight 2478 travels from San Diego to Chicago.

“I think everybody was kind of a little surprised and kind of doing, did we really see what we saw?” passenger Mary Ellen Eagelston told NBC5.

Ms. Eagelston shared a photo of the open emergency exit door on Twitter.

Airport operations were not affected by the incident, and no injuries were reported, ABC7 reported.

This story is based in part on wire service reports.

• Peter Santo can be reached at psanto@washingtontimes.com.

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