Flight attendant breaks leg during wild act

Terrifying footage shows the moment a man tries to open a plane door as passengers and cabin crew frantically attempt to stop him.

A flight attendant has broken their leg while trying to restrain a man who allegedly tried to open the emergency door mid-air.

Terrifying footage shows the moment the passenger is seen yanking at the lever of the emergency exit as cabin crew and other passengers rush over to try and stop him.

The Plus Ultra flight – a Spanish carrier – was flying over the Atlantic Ocean when the incident unfolded. It was heading from Madrid to the Venezuelan capital Caracas.

“[The] individual suddenly went to one of the doors of the plane trying to manipulate it,” a Plus Ultra spokesperson said.

“Immediately, our cabin crew subdued the passenger and, following the action protocol, secured him in the back of the plane until he reached the destination.

“One of our cabin crew suffered a partial fracture of the fibula for which he has already been treated and which will keep him out for a few weeks.”

The male passenger was eventually restrained by cabin crew where he was seen lying on the floor with his hands tied behind his back.

Despite the scary ordeal, the plane landed at its destination ahead of schedule.

The man was reportedly detained after the plane landed in Caracas.

“A passenger began to feel restless, annoying the person in the next seat with shouts and slapping him while he was asleep,” a Plus Ultra spokesperson said.

A passenger caused panic on a flight after allegedly trying to open the emergency door. Picture: Jam Press

“The crew acted quickly, calming the situation between the two and relocating the passenger to another seat where he could not disturb anyone.”

Moments later the scary ordeal unfolded.

Passengers and cabin crew were seen trying to stop the man. Picture: Jam Press

After restraining the man, the spokesperson said the passenger.

“One of our cabin crew suffered a partial fracture of the fibula for which he has already been treated and which will keep him out for a few weeks.”

It is unclear what prompted the passenger to attempt to open the emergency exit.

Professor Doug Drury, head of aviation at Central Queensland University, previously told news.com.au the exit door on a plane cannot be opened above 10,000 feet in altitude as the cabin is pressurised to 8,000 feet.

The man was then seen lying on the floor with his hands tied behind his back after being restrained by cabin crew. Picture: Jam Press

The difference between the internal cabin pressure and the outside air pressure effectively seals the doors, particularly on modern planes such as the Airbus A330.

Mr Drury’s comments come after two people also tried to open a plane door after mistaking it for the lavatory.

Some aircraft have a special flight lock feature that mechanically closes the door after the aircraft reaches a certain speed. Picture: News.com.au

Meanwhile, some aircraft have a special flight lock feature that mechanically closes the door after the aircraft reaches a certain speed. But there have been reported incidents of a passenger managing to open an emergency exit during a flight.

In 2023, a traveller on an Asiana Airlines Airbus A321 managed to open the door while the plane was coming in to land in South Korea.

The plane was about to land in Daegu, in the country’s south, after a flight from the southern island of Jeju when the passenger pulled the emergency exit handle at an altitude of about 700 feet.

Some of the other passengers tried to prevent the person from reaching the door but it partially opened, sending air whipping throughout the cabin as terrified flyers gripped their armrests, according to the New York Post.

At least a dozen people suffered minor injuries before the plane landed safely.

At the time, the Land, Infrastructure and Transport Ministry said an aviation safety official would check whether there was an abnormality in the plane’s maintenance.

Meanwhile, as a result of the incident the South Korean airline stopped selling certain emergency exit row seats.