An MMA fighter restrained an unruly passenger who tried to open an exit door and attacked a flight attendant aboard a Frontier Airlines flight headed to Chicago.
Videos online show the dramatic moment a passenger stopped a man who attempted to open the aircraft's rear exit door.
The man who intervened is an MMA fighter and Mansfield, Ohio, native, John Longood.
"I've prepared essentially my entire life for something like this," Longood said.
Frontier Flight 3345 was traveling to Chicago from San Juan when authorities say 51-year-old Juan Reyes tried to open the exit doors mid-air, claiming he wanted to get off the plane. Flight attendants tried to stop him and told him to sit down, but he ignored them and instead went to the front of the plane, where police said he tried to get into the pilot's cabin.
Flight attendants eventually got Reyes seated. Moments later, he attacked an off-duty flight attendant, trying to choke him, according to the Miami-Dade Police Department.
"He attacked the employee who was in his row right behind me, so I pushed him and laid him down in his row," Longood said.
While passengers were frantic, Longood stayed calm.
"Once people saw that I was controlling him and it was how easy it was for me to control him, I think a lot of passengers and the staff were comfortable with me taking charge of the situation," Longood said.
Longood slipped plastic hand restraints on Reyes and held him down until the plane made an emergency landing in Miami, where Miami-Dade Police were waiting.
"I just didn't, I didn't want anybody to get hurt, there were kids and elderly people around," Longood said.
Longood credits his jiu-jitsu training for his ability to handle the situation.
"There wasn't anything that he was going to do to hurt me, so I was telling people it was like holding down a kid that was throwing a little tantrum," Longood said.
Frontier provided a statement to News 5 saying Miami-Dade Police arrested Reyes upon landing. The flight eventually continued to Chicago a few hours later.
The Miami-Dade Sheriff's Office charged Reyes with one misdemeanor count of battery. He could also face FAA fines exceeding $40,000.
Maya Locket is the Erie, Huron and Richland counties reporter at News 5 Cleveland. Follow her on X @MayaLockett, on Facebook MayaLockettWEWS or email her at Maya.Lockett@wews.com.
