O'Hare Passenger Climbs Onto Wing Of Plane, Gets Arrested: Police

CHICAGO — A passenger on an early morning United Airlines flight arriving at O’Hare International Airport apparently didn’t feel like waiting for the plane to taxi to the gate Thursday morning and decided to take matters into his own hands.

The man was arrested after police said he opened the plane’s emergency exit door, climbed out onto the wing of the plane, and slid down to the tarmac, police said.

The man, who has not been identified, was taken into custody by police, according to a statement issued by United. The incident took place around 4:30 a.m., and charges are pending against the man, police said.

United’s statement said that once the passenger on United Flight 2478 opened up the emergency exit, ground crew members stopped the man and that the person was in the company of police officers.

“The plane then arrived at the gate and all passengers deplaned safely,” the United Airlines statement read. “The safety of our customers and crew is our highest priority.”

Police have not released any more information about the incident.

In March, a man was arrested at Midway Airport for climbing naked onto the wing of a plane, but was not a passenger. In that incident, police said, the man climbed a fence, got caught on barbed wire and then disrobed before jumping onto the wing of the plane in an apparent attempt to stop it from taking off.