Catch Me If You Can...Teen Opens Overwing Door, Slides Down.
Authorities on Tuesday took a 17-year-old boy into custody after he opened the overwing emergency exit of a jetliner preparing to taxi at SFO and slid down a wing to the tarmac below, an airport spokesman said.
The incident occurred at about 2:30 p.m. as Copa Airlines Flight 208 from Panama was waiting to taxi to its arrival gate, according to a statement released by airport spokesman Doug Yakel. “Apparently he slid down the wing onto the tarmac,” said Yakel, adding that the teen was not injured.
A construction crew approached the teen and San Francisco police took him into custody, according to the statement. He was later transferred to U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Yakel said.
The 17-year-old was not identified, but the statement said he was a U.S. citizen and traveling by himself.
The incident did not affect operations at the airport, and the aircraft proceeded to the gate, according to the statement.
