A Myanmar national was detained on Thursday after he tried to bite an American Airlines flight attendant before opening the plane door and jumping off onto the tarmac.
The incident took place at North Carolina’s Charlotte Douglas International Airport. According to CNN, the culprit, 22-year-old Tun Lun Sein, was on American Airlines flight 5242 headed for New Bern, N.C. However, as the plane was pulling away from the gate to head to the runway, Tun Lun Sein got out of his seat, and attempted to open the main aircraft door. When a flight attendant and two other passengers attempted to stop him, he tried to bite the attendant, successfully opened the galley service door, and jumped onto the tarmac.
Airport workers managed to detain him before he could run onto the runway, and he was then sent to a hospital for examination.
Now, Tun Lun Sein is being charged for interfering with flight crew members on a commercial aircraft.
It’s unclear what prompted him to suddenly get out of his seat, as authorities told CNN that he could clearly see that everyone else was seated for take off, in addition to the illuminated seatbelt signs. Authorities were unable to interrogate Tun Lun Sein, who is originally from Kayin State and spoke little English.
Although he went to his first court hearing on Friday, the hearing was postponed because authorities had for some reason procured a Thai interpreter who couldn’t speak Tun Lun Sein’s Karen dialect. A second hearing has been scheduled for this coming Thursday.
If convicted, Tun Lun Sein could face up to 20 years in prison.
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