A woman traveling from Texas to Ohio on Southwest Airlines was detained after she tried to open the aircraft's door mid-flight, claiming Jesus told her to do it.
The Daily Mail reported that 34-year-old Elom Agbegninou forced Southwest Flight 192 - headed to Columbus to Houston - to make an emergency landing in Little Rock, Arkansas after she attempted to open the aircraft's door mid-flight and bit a passenger on the thigh, refusing to let go until her jaw was forcefully opened.
Agbegninou's disturbing behavior allegedly stemmed from being frustrated after flight attendants wouldn't allow her to get to the emergency exit, and it was when another passenger intervened that she decided to bite them on the thigh. The victim was later treated at a hospital and given antibiotics.
A fellow passenger, Ding Yu, spoke to Fox 26 following the disturbing incident, saying: "They were rushing to the back of the plane to help. I was thinking about the worst case, probably that plane will crash, but I know it's a very low probability."
The three-hour flight turned into a six-hour delay, with numerous passengers running to the back of the plane to pin Agbegninou to the ground until the plane landed.
Documents released by the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas stated that a flight attendant had allegedly asked Agbegninou to either go to the bathroom or sit down, before she ran to the back of the aircraft and attempted to open the door at 37,000 feet.
Click2Houston reported that Agbegninou had wanted to travel to Maryland to visit a family friend who was a pastor. She had apparently left her home without telling her husband where she was going, and had also not brought any luggage with her. When questioned about the last time she had flown, she allegedly answered that she had "not flown in a long time" and could not recall when she had last traveled on an airplane.
She reportedly felt as if she couldn't breathe, before she stood up from her seat and attempted to open the door. She allegedly recalled trying to bite someone, but added that she suffers from anxiety and "became very anxious and normally would not have done those things."
Agbegninou is facing charges of assault within maritime and territorial jurisdiction and interference with flight crew members and attendants.