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Man Attempts Daring Escape During Long Flight Delay at JFK
By
John Del Signore
Published Mar 31, 2009
Modified Mar 31, 2009
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By
John Del Signore
Published Mar 31, 2009
Modified Mar 31, 2009
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Robert McDonald, a 60-year-old Scottish man, faces a year in prison after acting out every delayed passenger's fantasy aboard a grounded Delta flight Sunday night. The plane had been stalled on the taxiway for two and a half hours due to inclement weather (after a layover between Edinburgh and Vegas), and it seems all that waiting put the zap on old McDonald's head. At some point around 7:45 p.m., he snapped and allegedly tried to make a break for it by popping open the emergency exit!
That kind of bad-ass behavior may fly in the Highlands, but not here in the US of A, Mr. Robbie McDonald. (Here we grind our teeth and file lawsuits when Delta screws us over.) The flight crew managed to subdue McDonald before he could activate the emergency chute and slide down to freedom on the JFK runways. His wife was with him too, and one can imagine the couple living happily as fugitives in the wilds of Jamaica Bay. But it was not to be; Port Authority police took him into custody, and he's charged with second-degree reckless endangerment and second degree criminal tampering.
The charges [pdf] could get McDonald up to a year in jail if convicted. Lucky for him, he landed judge Mary O’Donohue, who released him on his own recognizance. Meanwhile, the plane was taken out of service, the passengers were booked on the next flight, and Delta may have to replace the plane’s emergency chute (which must not be Scottish).
Tagged
emergency door
escape
JFK
man
Scottish
John Del Signore
Originally from the Albany area, John Del Signore has called NYC home since 1995. In addition to his thousands of meticulously-crafted bespoke blog posts for Gothamist, his writing has also been published in The Awl, Deadspin, The Nervous Breakdown, and performed at The Brick Theater in Brooklyn.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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