Contra Costa Times: Plane passenger runs wild on jet
Post
Plane passenger runs wild on jet, Tue, Jan. 24, 2006
A Pompano Beach man fought to get off a plane preparing to leave for Newark, finally opening the door of the plane and jumping to the tarmac below.
BY JERRY BERRIOS AND JENNIFER LEBOVICH
Miami Herald
A passenger on a Newark-bound jet ran toward the front of the plane, banging and kicking on the cockpit door Monday afternoon as it taxied to a runway at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport.
Several passengers and crew tried to restrain the man, who bit a passenger in first class who tried to hold back the unruly passenger, Broward Sheriff Ken Jenne said.
Troy Anthony Rigby, 28, yelled that he ''had to get off'' and after the pilot depressurized the doors, Rigby opened the plane's door, jumping at least 10 feet onto the tarmac below, deputies said. Rigby ran toward another airport terminal as sheriff's deputies pursued him, they said.
The Pompano Beach man resisted as deputies tried to take him into custody and a deputy shocked him with a stun gun to immobilize him, deputies said. When Rigby continued to resist, he was shocked a second time, they said.
He was taken to Broward General Medical Center in Fort Lauderdale, a standard procedure when stun guns are used.
Continental Flight 408 had been waiting in a holding area for more than half an hour when the man got out of his seat. The plane was taxiing just after 4 p.m., officials said.
''We don't know if this was an anxiety attack,'' Jenne said.
Rigby is wanted on a misdemeanor marijuana possession warrant, BSO said.
Jenne boarded the plane after the ordeal to thank the crew and passengers for their heroic efforts.
''This could have been a lot worse, but because they worked together, none of the passengers were at any risk,'' Jenne said.
The sheriff called the incident ''bizarre'' and alluded to a case in December year, when air marshals shot and killed a man after he bolted down the aisle of an American Airlines flight preparing to take off from Miami International Airport.
Federal air marshals shot Rigoberto Alpizar on the jetway after he claimed he had a bomb in his backpack. No bomb was found.
Jenne did not believe there were any air marshals on board the Boeing 737-300 in Monday's incident.
Jenne described Rigby as a very muscular man with ``active teeth.''
Passenger Paul Sigler said he experienced Rigby's bite firsthand. As Sigler and others tried to hold Rigby back, the man chomped on Sigler's left hand. Rigby sandwiched Sigler's other hand against the wall of the plane, breaking his right hand, Sigler said.
''You just can't sit there and watch that go by,'' Sigler said. ``Not in this day and age, not anymore. One time, I guess you would have.''
Rigby slammed his own body against the plane's door and told passengers he was claustrophobic, Sigler said.
People who gathered at Rigby's Pompano Beach home Monday night declined to comment about the incident.
The plane, with 116 passengers and five crew members onboard, was able to take off for Newark at around 6:30 p.m., according to Martin DeLeon, a spokesman for Continental Airlines.
Rigby was booked into the Broward County Jail after the hospital dismissed him. He is being charged with criminal mischief, criminal trespass, battery, resisting arrest with violence and battery on a law enforcement officer, according to BSO.
Herald staff writer Wanda J. DeMarzo contributed to this report.
A Pompano Beach man fought to get off a plane preparing to leave for Newark, finally opening the door of the plane and jumping to the tarmac below.
BY JERRY BERRIOS AND JENNIFER LEBOVICH
Miami Herald
A passenger on a Newark-bound jet ran toward the front of the plane, banging and kicking on the cockpit door Monday afternoon as it taxied to a runway at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport.
Several passengers and crew tried to restrain the man, who bit a passenger in first class who tried to hold back the unruly passenger, Broward Sheriff Ken Jenne said.
Troy Anthony Rigby, 28, yelled that he ''had to get off'' and after the pilot depressurized the doors, Rigby opened the plane's door, jumping at least 10 feet onto the tarmac below, deputies said. Rigby ran toward another airport terminal as sheriff's deputies pursued him, they said.
The Pompano Beach man resisted as deputies tried to take him into custody and a deputy shocked him with a stun gun to immobilize him, deputies said. When Rigby continued to resist, he was shocked a second time, they said.
He was taken to Broward General Medical Center in Fort Lauderdale, a standard procedure when stun guns are used.
Continental Flight 408 had been waiting in a holding area for more than half an hour when the man got out of his seat. The plane was taxiing just after 4 p.m., officials said.
''We don't know if this was an anxiety attack,'' Jenne said.
Rigby is wanted on a misdemeanor marijuana possession warrant, BSO said.
Jenne boarded the plane after the ordeal to thank the crew and passengers for their heroic efforts.
''This could have been a lot worse, but because they worked together, none of the passengers were at any risk,'' Jenne said.
The sheriff called the incident ''bizarre'' and alluded to a case in December year, when air marshals shot and killed a man after he bolted down the aisle of an American Airlines flight preparing to take off from Miami International Airport.
Federal air marshals shot Rigoberto Alpizar on the jetway after he claimed he had a bomb in his backpack. No bomb was found.
Jenne did not believe there were any air marshals on board the Boeing 737-300 in Monday's incident.
Jenne described Rigby as a very muscular man with ``active teeth.''
Passenger Paul Sigler said he experienced Rigby's bite firsthand. As Sigler and others tried to hold Rigby back, the man chomped on Sigler's left hand. Rigby sandwiched Sigler's other hand against the wall of the plane, breaking his right hand, Sigler said.
''You just can't sit there and watch that go by,'' Sigler said. ``Not in this day and age, not anymore. One time, I guess you would have.''
Rigby slammed his own body against the plane's door and told passengers he was claustrophobic, Sigler said.
People who gathered at Rigby's Pompano Beach home Monday night declined to comment about the incident.
The plane, with 116 passengers and five crew members onboard, was able to take off for Newark at around 6:30 p.m., according to Martin DeLeon, a spokesman for Continental Airlines.
Rigby was booked into the Broward County Jail after the hospital dismissed him. He is being charged with criminal mischief, criminal trespass, battery, resisting arrest with violence and battery on a law enforcement officer, according to BSO.
Herald staff writer Wanda J. DeMarzo contributed to this report.
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