Moment man climbs onto the wing of an Alaskan Airlines plane moments before take-off, walks around and then plummets onto the tarmac in Las Vegas
- The unidentified man reportedly hopped a perimeter fence at McCarran Airport
- Police officers were closing in when he slipped from the plane to the tarmac
- The man was reportedly either suffering from mental illness or impairment
- The plane was forced to undergo an inspection after, delaying a flight 4 hours
A man in Las Vegas was taken into custody on Saturday after climbing upon the wing of an Alaska Airlines plane set to depart from McCarran International Airport.
In video posted on social media, a man can be seen walking on the wing of the airplane on Saturday afternoon around 1:30pm local time.
The man, who has not yet been identified, appears to be without his socks and shoes as he tries to climb up the vertical winglet of the Boeing 737 plane.
Police officers are seen both on the ground and then on the wing of the plane trying to reach the man, who suddenly slips on the winglet and crashes down hard against the tarmac, where officers quickly close in.
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Twitter user Erin Evans captured much of the incident while inside her departing plane
An unidentified man was caught on the wing of an Alaska Airlines plane in Las Vegas
The man appeared to be acting erratically as police officers tried to get him to come down
Twitter user Erin Evans captured the shocking incident on social media.
‘My grandpa is on a flight out of Las Vegas and just sent me this picture of a man that climbed ON TO THE WING OF THE AIRPLANE,’ Justin MacFayden tweeted as well.
According to KSNV, officers initially reported to the scene after a man jumped over a perimeter fence at the airport.
The man, who is not identified, is believed to potentially suffer from mental illness, though there is also a possibility he was impaired.
CNN reports the pilots of the Alaska Airlines flight to Portland notified the control tower of the man approaching their plane before he even made it on to the vehicle.
At one point, the man even decided to lay down on the wing of the sitting plane
Before hopping on the plane, the man reportedly hopped a perimeter fence nearby
The man was reportedly either suffering from mental illness or some kind of impairment
As police officers made their way to him, he moved towards the vertical winglet of the plane
The police told CNN the man was taken to a medical facility after being remanded into custody.
‘Around 2 p.m. PST, Alaska Airlines flight 1367 from Las Vegas to Portland was preparing for takeoff when the pilot noticed an individual advancing towards the aircraft,’ Alaska Airlines said in a statement to KIRO 7.
‘The pilots notified the tower. Law enforcement was dispatched and able to apprehend the individual. Our guests and employees are safe and we are working with law enforcement. The plane has returned to the gate for a full inspection.’
After the incident, the plane was forced to return to its gate for a full inspection, resulting in a delay of four hours and 18 minutes.
At one point, the man was seen scaling the winglet without his socks or shoes on
Shortly after climbing the winglet, however, the man slipped and fell onto the tarmac
After falling to the tarmac, the man was arrested and taken to a medical facility for evaluation