Passengers were thrown into panic after a man reportedly rushed towards an emergency exit and attempted to open the door while an aircraft was airborne.
Videos circulating on social media showed passengers standing in the aisle as cabin crew members moved quickly to restrain the man near the emergency exit.
Some passengers were seen recording the incident on their phones, while others watched in apparent shock as crew members and fellow passengers tried to bring the situation under control.
According to a social media user who posted details of the incident, the man suddenly moved towards the emergency exit, triggering alarm among passengers.
Additional footage showed a tense atmosphere inside the cabin, with some passengers appearing visibly shaken as the crew intervened.
The cabin crew eventually restrained the man and prevented the situation from escalating further.
However, details surrounding the incident remained unclear.
It was not immediately established what prompted the man’s actions, whether he successfully opened the emergency exit or whether authorities took him into custody after the aircraft landed.
The identity of the man, the airline involved, the flight number and the destination were also not immediately confirmed from the footage circulating online.
Incident comes amid aviation security concerns
The reported incident comes amid heightened attention on aviation security following a recent incident involving a flydubai flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv.
In that case, the co-pilot of Flight FZ1073 was accused of attacking the captain with an emergency crash axe and attempting to hijack the aircraft.
The United Arab Emirates Attorney-General described the incident as an attempted “terrorist act”.
The co-pilot, an Omani national, allegedly attacked and wounded the captain in the cockpit before passengers overpowered him. Another crew member subsequently helped land the aircraft safely in Saudi Arabia.
Reports from the United States and Israel said the co-pilot had allegedly planned to crash the aircraft into Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion Airport or a high-rise building in the Israeli city.
The reports described him as a suspected lone-wolf extremist.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also said the co-pilot had undergone what he described as “Islamist radical indoctrination”, while praising the captain, passengers and another crew member for preventing what he characterised as a potential disaster.
The two incidents are separate, and there was no indication from the available footage that the latest reported incident was connected to the flydubai case.
Aviation authorities and the airline involved in the latest incident had yet to issue an official statement confirming the circumstances surrounding the reported attempt to open the emergency exit.
Clearer Video: “The Man Was So Restless And Started Behaving Strangely. This Was When He Stood Up. It Seemed Like He Was Struggling To Breathe, And a Simple Oxygen Could Have Saved His Life. This Was The Moment It All Started. Unfortunately, The Man Died Inside The Plane Before We Landed.” ~ Lady Captures The Moment a Passenger Reportedly Became Restless And Attempted To Open The Emergency Exit Door On a Kenya Airways Flight From Nairobi To Lagos. He Later Died Before The Plane Landed.
— Somto Okonkwo (@General_Somto) October 7, 2026
VIDEO: Moment passenger attempts to open plane exit door mid-flight, sparking panic
Source: X | ChuksEricE
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— The Nation Nigeria (@TheNationNews) October 7, 2026