Teen Arrested After Jumping Off Copa Airlines Flight, Other Similar Incidents

San Francisco airport officials said a 17-year-old boy was detained by crew members Tuesday after he opened an emergency gate of a Copa Airlines flight waiting to taxi to its arrival gate and jumped onto the tarmac at San Francisco International Airport.

The Copa Airlines Flight 208 from Panama City landed Tuesday afternoon and the incident took place around 2:30 p.m. EDT, according to SFO spokesman Doug Yakel. The teenager was arrested and is in police custody. Yakel said the teen is a U.S. citizen and was traveling alone.

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The reason for the teen jumping off the plane was not clear immediately. According to SFO officials, Customs and Border Protection have been handling the investigation into the incident. The teen will also be transported to a hospital for psychiatric evaluation. He was not injured during the incident. Yakel said no runways were affected and there was no operational impact after the incident. The plane later taxied to its assigned gate and all passengers got off the flight without further problems.

"We just landed and then I hear some people scream … like, 'No!'" said 11-year-old passenger Andrea Sepulveda Guzman, who was on the plane.

"And then this guy, I see him jump on the wing and then he starts climbing down the wing and then he just runs. And then he just starts running the other way. And everyone was just screaming," she added, CBS SFBay Area reported.

Copa Airlines issued a statement later regarding the incident, "Copa Airlines confirms that upon arrival of today’s flight CM 208 from Panama City (Panama) to San Francisco (United States), a 17-year old passenger sitting in an exit row seat unexpectedly opened the emergency door, and slid down the wing of the aircraft onto the taxiway at San Francisco International Airport. The incident occurred a few minutes after landing, while the aircraft was taxiing to the gate. A Copa crew member closed the exit door, and the aircraft proceeded to the gate where all other passengers and crew disembarked safely. The passenger has been taken into custody by law enforcement. We are cooperating fully with the relevant authorities to support the ongoing investigation."

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There have been other similar incidents before where passengers have tried to jump off planes.

In May 2017, an airline passenger was arrested after an incident involved the passenger trying to bite a flight attendant before opening the galley door of an American Airlines flight and jumping on to the tarmac at a North Carolina airport, according to Time Magazine. The American Airlines flight 5242 was preparing for takeoff from the terminal at Charlotte Douglas International Airport.

In November 2016, a United Airlines flight from New Orleans, which just landed in Houston, Texas and was taxiing towards its gate at George Bush International Airport, a female passenger was said to have walked out of an emergency exit and jumped out of the aircraft. She tried to flee and ran towards the terminal when she was detained the by the police, CNN had reported.

In 2014, a passenger on a China Eastern Airlines plane said he wanted to "get off the plane quicker" and deployed the emergency slide after the plane landed at Sanya Phoenix International Airport. The incident led to a two hour delay of the aircraft and reportedly cost the airlines about $16,000 in damages.

In April in the same year, a United Airlines flight attendant also pulled off a similar incident by jumping off an aircraft.