An AirTran flight traveling from Baltimore bound for Austin was forced to land in Tennessee when one passenger attempted to crack an emergency exit door on the plane.
Spokesperson from Southwest Airlines Brad Hawkins told Memphis news station WREG-TV that flight 265 diverted on Monday evening near Little Rock.
Vice President of Operations for the Memphis Shelby County Airport Authority John Greaud told WREG that air carrier authorities were waiting at the airport to talk to the passengers that had de-boarded at around 6:30 p.m.
The man who tried opening one of the emergency exit doors was not under the influence of drugs or alcohol, nor was he a particularly disorderly passenger. But some people on the flight said he was acting curiously-almost suicidally, muttering that he no longer wanted to go on with life. One passenger claimed that some US Army soldiers had to physically hold him back until the plane landed.
Once authorities had interviewed those on the plane, they allowed fliers back into the air. Flight 265 landed in Austin without a hitch.
Officials are still mulling over what they should charge the man with, if anything.
One passenger named Patty Solum spoke with MyFoxAustin after landing in Texas.
"It's the kind of thing you hear about and worry about and it was handled...professionally and calmly," she said, as she exited Austin Bergstrom International Airport.
120 passengers were on the flight, along with a five-person crew.
