Former MMA fighter John Longood stopped an out-of-control Frontier Airlines passenger from opening an emergency exit door mid-flight, and people are hailing him a hero. The frightening incident occurred on a flight from Puerto Rico to O’Hare International Airport in Chicago on May 31.
According to the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office and witnesses, the passenger punched an off-duty airline employee who tried to stop him after trying to unlock the plane’s door while in flight, claiming he wanted to get off the aircraft. He then moved to the front of the aircraft, where police said he attempted to enter the pilot’s cabin, despite flight attendants’ attempts to stop him.
An off-duty flight attendant offered to sit in the unruly passenger’s row on the aisle after Frontier Airlines flight attendants made many attempts to get him back to his seat. Police said the passenger attacked the off-duty flight attendant and attempted to choke him while other passengers tried to restrain him.
A former MMA fighter took control of the scary situation
Josh Longood, who was returning from his brother’s bachelor party in Puerto Rico, was one of those passengers. Luckily for everyone on board the plane, except the maniac passenger, Longood is a former MMA fighter and has a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu.
“I knew I had to be the one to step in and I knew I could do it safely without anybody getting injured,” Longood told Fox 8 News. “I was kind of ready already. I had my feet in the aisle, I knew he was going to do something crazy, so as soon as he jumped on him, I just controlled him safely, kind of pushed him against the window.”
“I was just trying to handle it as calm as possible, making sure everybody around me was calm. They knew that I had control of the situation,” Longood added. “He started to slip out on our descent to Miami, so I just kind of sat with him, holding him down and kind of treated him like a little kid that was throwing a tantrum, just held him down and did what I needed to do.”
The Federal Aviation Administration said in a statement that the crew reported a “passenger disturbance” that caused them to divert the flight to Miami. Authorities arrested the passenger on a charge of battery for attacking the airline employee. FBI agents also questioned him, and he is now facing federal charges that include interference with flight crew members.
“I was talking to [the other passengers] even when I was controlling him and let them know I had control of the situation, that everything was going to be all good,” Longood said. “A lot of them thanked me when we got down to Miami, and you know, I’m just happy nobody was injured.”