Leaping From Kitchen Door As Airplane Speeding On Airport Runway, A Phoenix Man Arrested By Authorities

Illustration of the Southwest Airlines fleet at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport. (Wikimedia Commons/Werner Lehmann)

JAKARTA - Authorities have identified a man who jumped out of the door as the plane was speeding down the runway towards the gate at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport, United States.

Phoenix police said Daniel Ramirez, 30, was detained on Saturday night last week, on suspicion of two offenses.

Ramirez's family said he was in Colorado for work, but wanted to go home because he feared for his life. They also told Phoenix ABC TV station 15 Ramirez may have schizophrenia based on their family history.

Ramirez's mother Theresa Padilla said she called her son before he got on the plane.

"I don't want him to be portrayed as a madman who jumped out of a plane. He ran and hid because he thought someone was after him," Padilla quoted the AP December 5.

Emily Luevano, Ramirez's sister-in-law, said she was also on the phone.

Illustration of the Southwest Airlines fleet. Wikimedia Commons/PlanespotterA320)

"We talked on the phone with him for seven hours. He was paranoid saying 'Someone's going to catch me. Someone's going to kill me,'" Luevano told ABC 15.

Ramirez's family said they didn't end the call until he boarded a flight to Phoenix.

Ramirez was a passenger on a Southwest Airlines flight arriving from Colorado Springs on Saturday morning, when authorities said he opened the back kitchen door, jumped out, and ran to the airport fire station where he had been hiding.

Southwest Airlines officials said the plane's captain alerted the control tower (ATC) so authorities could respond to the situation. The plane with the remaining crew and passengers then goes to the designated gate.

Separately, Phoenix Fire Department officials said Ramirez entered the airport fire station, walked into his dorm room, and locked himself inside.

After a few minutes, firefighters managed to get Ramirez to unlock the door. He was then evaluated, treated for a lower leg injury, and taken to a Phoenix hospital. Meanwhile, Sky Harbor officials said the incident did not delay airport operations.