Passenger jumps from moving plane at Los Angeles airport

A passenger was taken to the hospital on Friday night after jumping out of a moving plane at Los Angeles International Airport, authorities said.

United Express flight 5365, operated by SkyWest, was pulling away from a gate shortly after 7pm when the man unsuccessfully tried to breach the cockpit, then managed to open the service door and jumped down the emergency slide onto the tarmac, according to the airport and SkyWest.

The man was taken into custody on the taxiway, treated for injuries that were not life-threatening and taken to the hospital, authorities said.

The twin-engine Embraer 175, which was headed to Salt Lake City, returned to its gate, the airport said. It was still there hours later. Nobody else aboard the plane was injured. The FBI was investigating.

It was the second disruption at LAX in two days.

On Thursday, a driver plowed through a chain-link fence at a FedEx cargo facility and went onto the airfield, crossing runways as police chased the car.

Police said the driver was detained and no injuries were reported. Two runways were briefly closed.

Associated Press