The Associated Press
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla.- An airline passenger bit a fellow traveler Monday, then jumped out of the plane as it was on the tarmac, authorities said. He was subdued with a stun gun.
The man was taken to a hospital from the Fort Lauderdale airport, the Broward County sheriff’s office said. It was unclear whether he or the passenger who was bitten were hurt.
The Continental Airlines flight had been delayed for about 30 minutes, and as the Boeing 737 began to taxi, the man started yelling to get off, the sheriff’s office said.
He ran to the front of the plane and banged on windows and the cockpit door, the office said. As passengers and crew members tried to restrain him, he bit a passenger.
When the pilot depressurized the cabin, the man opened a door, jumped onto the tarmac and began running toward the terminal. Deputies said they zapped him with a stun gun after he resisted arrest.
It was unclear whether the plane was still moving when the man jumped.
Troy Rigby, 28, will be charged with criminal mischief, criminal trespass, battery, resisting arrest with violence and battery on a law enforcement officer, in addition to an outstanding warrant for marijuana possession, the sheriff’s office said.
The plane, set to fly from Fort Lauderdale/Hollywood International Airport to Newark, N.J., was carrying 116 passengers and five crew members. It was rescheduled for later Monday, a Continental spokesman said.