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An American Airlines flight was forced to return to New Mexico after a passenger tried to open the emergency door mid-flight on Tuesday.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and American Airlines confirmed to Fox News Digital that AA Flight 1219, which was headed to Chicago International Airport, was forced to return to Albuquerque International Sunport.
A passenger on the flight, Don, the globe-trotting host of Barstool Sports' “Donnie Does,” said the in-flight disruption occurred about 30 minutes after the Boeing 737 took off.
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“There was just too much going on at the moment to panic, but it was very scary,” Don told Fox News Digital.
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Barstool Sports personality “Donnie Does” was aboard an American Airlines flight on Tuesday that had to return to Albuquerque, New Mexico, after a man aggressively tried to open an emergency door mid-flight before falling to the ground was torn. (@DonnieDoesWorld/X)
The media personality said he was falling asleep when he was suddenly woken up by a runaway passenger.
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Don said he “jumped out of his seat” and joined the other four passengers who tried to subdue the passenger who was trying to open the emergency door.
“So I jumped out of my seat, ran over and we probably had about four or five guys trying to rip this guy off, clinging to it and pulling on it [emergency door] Grip,” he said.
Passengers detain a man who caused a disturbance on an American Airlines flight from New Mexico to Chicago on Tuesday. (@DonnieDoesWorld/X)
Don said he was feeling “pretty sluggish” because he had Chinese food with a tequila soda during his layover.
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POTENTIAL RADIOACTIVE LEAK IN THE CARGO OF AN AIRCRAFT UNDER INVESTIGATION AT SPANISH AIRPORT
“Tequila sodas don’t go well with Panda Express,” he said. “So I was pretty sluggish. At the time I thought I was feeling pretty sluggish, but when I saw what was going on it immediately got me on my feet.”
The unruly passenger is escorted off the American Airlines flight by police. (@DonnieDoesWorld/X)
The four or five passengers tried to subdue the man who was clinging to the emergency door.
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“Once we got him free from the door, we took him to the aisle and we all held his legs and arms,” Don said.
Finally, an American Airlines flight attendant came over, taped his legs with tape, and handcuffed him with flexible handcuffs.
A video from Don showed the group of men holding the passenger while the flight attendant taped his legs together.
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They placed him in the back of the plane, where there was an empty row, Don said.
Don told Fox News Digital that other passengers heard him say he “needed to get off this plane” before the unruly passenger tried to open the emergency door.
“Once we freed him from the door, he didn’t fight back too aggressively. And then we took the plane back to Albuquerque.”
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Following the incident, the plane was diverted back to the Albuquerque International Sunport, where the unruly passenger was immediately arrested by local law enforcement.
In a statement to Fox News Digital, the Albuquerque Division of the FBI said it is investigating the incident.
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“The Albuquerque Division of the FBI is aware of the incident and we are currently investigating.”
Albuquerque police did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment.