Southwest Flight Makes Emergency Landing After Man Tries to Open Door Mid-Flight

A Southwest Airlines flight from Chicago to Sacramento was diverted on Sunday after a man tried to open a door and exit the plane mid-flight.

The plane was forced to make an unscheduled stop in Nebraska, according to Cleveland.com.

Southwest Airlines issued a statement that the captain of the Chicago-to-Sacramento flight landed at Eppley Airfield in Omaha to "have an unruly passenger removed" before continuing to Sacramento, the Associated Press reported.

The flight, which had five crew members and 134 passengers, arrived in Sacramento two hours behind schedule. Omaha aviation officials did not provide further information about the unruly passenger.

NBC News Chicago reported, "Video recorded by a producer from NBC station KCRA in Sacramento shows authorities removing the man from flight 722 after the pilot put the plane down at Eppley Airfield. Witnesses said they heard screaming coming from the back of the plane. A flight attendant was yelling, 'Help me! Help me!' as the man attempted to jump out of the plane through a rear door."

A group of passengers headed to the back of the plane after hearing the yelling.

One of the men was Dr. Scott Porter, who at first thought it was a medical emergency. He reportedly helped subdue the person.

"'He was going to do bad things to the plane, so it was pretty scary," Porter told a local Sacramento news station. "We basically tackled -- I don't want to say 'gentleman,' - but the guy who was back there and then pinned him down. I got the sense he was probably on some sort of drugs or that he was psychotic.

"Air marshals escorted the suspect off the plane after it landed in Nebraska and passengers clapped from inside the plane, and watched through the window, as he left," Porter added.