United Express Passenger Roped After Trying To Open Plane’s Door In Midair While Repeatedly Yelling ‘I Am God’
An Idaho woman was detained after she stirred chaos while onboard the United Express Flight 5449 on March 5. The early morning flight was en route from San Francisco to Boise, Idaho, when the unruly passenger caused fear when she tried to open the plane’s cabin door.
The incident was caught on video and it showed the woman being restrained by her co-passengers. Two men tried to calm down the woman, but she was uncontrollable so they decided to tie her feet up with a rope.
While being subdued, passengers could hear the woman screaming, “I am God, I am God, I am God,” over and over again. Her odd ranting was frightening to those onboard the craft but fortunately, nothing else happened after she was restrained.
As CBS News reported, prior to her outburst, she attempted to push open the aircraft’s cabin door. Boise airport officials immediately reported the incident to the police so she was arrested upon arrival at the airport.
Airline officials relayed on Monday that the woman has been turned over to state health officials. She will be checked and evaluated to determine if she will be charged for the serious disturbance.
The Witness’ Account
In a phone interview, Scott T. Smith, a passenger on the same flight, recounted the bizarre scene during their trip to the Idaho Statesman.
“She wasn’t acting right, or normal, from the very beginning of the flight.”
Passengers onboard United Express Flight 5449 restrained a Boise, Idaho, woman who was ranting about being God and tried to open the aircraft cabin door while the plane was in flight. https://t.co/LJXflL046O pic.twitter.com/7Z8if49IUu
— CBS News (@CBSNews) March 6, 2018
He said that the woman appeared to have a companion and they were in the first-class section. He was seated behind them so he could see that both women looked very nervous.
Smith added that he thinks one or both women were trying to get over the fear of flying. When the plane left the gate, the seat in front of him started to shake back and forth, then he heard raised voices.
A while later, one of the women left her seat and was seen trying to open the cabin door. That’s when two co-passengers jumped from their seats to stop her. Smith said the woman was also rambling other phrases such as “God has all the data” and “We landed in Boise 15 minutes ago.”
Lastly, the witness shared that the incident was “kind of odd.” Although he does not know if the woman was on some kind of medication that wore off or if she was suffering from a bad reaction, based on his observations, he is certain that she is not mentally fit.
Meanwhile, United Express Flight 5449 landed safely in Boise as confirmed by SkyWest’s spokeswoman, Layne Wilson.
