http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/co ... 01919.html

Man Seized On Flight To Dulles
Passenger Attempts To Open Cabin Door

By Martin Weil
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, September 13, 2006; B01


An unruly passenger who reportedly tried to yank open a cabin door in an airliner en route to Washington was jumped last night by fellow passengers who helped federal air marshals subdue him.

United Flight 890, from Los Angeles, was about two hours from Dulles International Airport when the incident occurred about 6:30 p.m. EDT. The full Airbus 320 arrived a few minutes early, officials said.

The man, who reportedly wore a camouflage jacket and spoke Portuguese, was questioned at Dulles last night by airport police, according to an airport spokeswoman.

No motive was readily apparent, but a spokeswoman for the FBI emphasized that the incident was not terrorism-related.

"There is no terrorism nexus," she said.

The plane, which according to a Web site can carry 180 passengers, left Los Angeles at 12:50 p.m. PDT. About halfway into the flight, shouting broke out in the rear of the cabin, a passenger said after arriving at Dulles.

The man "was pulling on the rear-door release handle," said the passenger, Stephen Lockwood of Northern Virginia.

A flight attendant ordered the man to stop, but he continued to pull on the handle.

Two or three passengers standing nearby intervened, Lockwood said he was told by others onboard.

"They jumped him," Lockwood said. "He resisted," and a vigorous scuffle ensued.

"The guy took quite a beating," Lockwood said. No one else was reported injured.

Out of the tumult, the passenger said, a federal air marshal appeared. He showed his shield and placed plastic handcuffs on the man.

"The passengers clapped when they took him forward," Lockwood said.

Amy Kudwa, a spokeswoman for the Transportation Security Administration, said that she lacked details of the incident but that she understood two air marshals had subdued the man.

It was not clear how often air marshals have been called on to subdue passengers on flights into or out of Washington. The number of flights that carry marshals is not disclosed.

Intervening in such situations is "part of [the air marshals'] mission, Kudwa said.

It also was not clear whether the door could have been opened in flight. Lockwood said he was told later by airline personnel that the doors cannot be opened while the cabin is pressurized.

According to Lockwood, the man was taken to the first-class section of the airplane, where at least one passenger talked with him in Portuguese.

Courtney Prebich, a spokeswoman for the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority, which operates both Dulles and Reagan National Airport, said airport police were called to meet the plane upon its arrival.

An FBI spokeswoman said the bureau was interviewing the unruly passenger last night. She said few details were immediately available.