Cops marched the passenger off the Alaska Airlines flight when it touched down in Minneapolis
A PASSENGER plane made an emergency landing after a man seen popping pills "freaked out" and tried to open a door in mid-air.
Witnesses said the passenger was "speaking gibberish" and said he needed to get off the Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 from New York to Seattle.
He then got up out of his seat and began trying to force open the rear door.
The jet was diverted to Minneapolis after the pilot told ground control: "We will be dropping off one of our passengers early."
The co-pilot added: "Can we have someone greet this customer? He’s having a difficult time working and playing well with others"
Footage shows a handcuffed young man dressed in a green t-shirt and with a bleached mohawk hairstyle being marched off by cops after the plane landed yesterday.
The man had been seen taking pills and appeared calm and was falling asleep until he was offered a drink, reports said.
Shoshana Godwin, who sat next to him, said he was acting erratically as soon as he got on the flight and later "freaked out and wanted off the plane".
She said: "He said he need to cancel his flight and get off the plane and just was kind of speaking a little gibberish.
"I think someone may have been a little bit stressed out about flying and took too much medication."
Another passenger, Melinda Iverson, said: "The air marshals were there quick. The flight attendants were sort of surrounding him and I felt more sorry for him than anything."
Alaska Airlines said it is impossible to open a door at altitude but the pilots decided to divert to police could deal with the passenger.
Spokeswoman Halley Knigge said: “We did receive reports that this passenger attempted to access a door at the rear of the aircraft.
“The passenger was unsuccessful as it is physically impossible to open an aircraft door while the aircraft is pressurised and inflight.”
Speaking to , the airport’s police force said they questioned the passenger and determined he presented a danger to himself.
He was later taken to the local Fairview Southdale Hospital.
The plane continued its journey and arrived three hours late in Seattle.
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