Two passengers aboard a Delta flight opened the aircraft's emergency exit and slid off the plane as it was taxiing on the runway at New York's LaGuardia Airport.
A service dog that boarded with the two passengers also deplaned.
Airport authorities identified the two passengers as 31-year-old Antonio Murdock and 23-year-old Brianna Greco - both Florida residents. The two passengers were apprehended and are now facing charges of third-degree criminal trespass. Murdock was slapped with additional charges including second-degree reckless endangerment and second-degree criminal mischief.
The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey said that the service dog that was with the two passengers has been taken to an animal shelter in Brooklyn.
After the two deployed the slide and deplaned, the Delta flight was forced to sit on the tarmac for more than an hour before it returned to the gate. Delta said that all of the other passengers were able to exit the plane and were provided with alternate flights.
"Maintenance technicians have evaluated the aircraft, and (it) is scheduled to return to service this evening," Delta said.
One of the passengers said during an arraignment this week he felt the urge to immediately leave the plane as he would have "lost control." Murdock was brought in front of the New York City Criminal Court in Queens after the incident.
A flight attendant who witnessed the incident said that he heard Murdock say that he needed to get off the plane and that he no longer wanted to sit inside it. Murdock later popped the plane's emergency exit, which automatically deployed and inflated the attached slide, the witness said. Murdock then picked up his dog and deplaned. He was then followed by Greco not long after.
Both passengers were apprehended by airport authorities as they were walking along the restricted taxiway area. According to witnesses, everything on the plane was normal and there was no situation that necessitated the opening of the emergency exit.
Other passengers on board the plane that had interacted with the two passengers said that they were "pleasant" and there was nothing out of the ordinary about them.
