Newly released surveillance footage from the Port of Seattle captures a “nervous” Alaska Airlines passenger as she opens an emergency exit and steps onto the wing of the aircraft after it landed at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport on Sunday. Fortunately, no injuries were reported, and airport operations remained unaffected. Following the arrival of Alaska Airlines flight 323 from Milwaukee, the Boeing 737-900 jet arrived at gate N9. The passenger was later taken to the hospital for evaluation as advised by the Port of Seattle’s crisis team.
The video shows the woman opening the aircraft’s emergency exit before walking onto the wing. Initially, she appears to attempt to jump down but instead ends up sitting on the wing, waving at ground crew members. The wingtip of the 737-900 is approximately 12 feet above the ground, while the area near the fuselage is about 8 feet high.
Dressed in a red shirt and dark pants, the passenger was seen with her backpack as she moved to the edge of the wing near the windows. She looked down, waved her hands, and stood on the wing while two nearby operations crew members seemed oblivious to her presence.
At least two baggage carts passed by without noticing the unusual scene. The woman remained on the wing for roughly a minute before two catering staff members in a vehicle spotted her. It took about 90 seconds for someone inside the plane to investigate the situation by peeking out, and six minutes for another individual to cautiously step onto the wing to communicate with her.
Ultimately, the passenger spent around 11 minutes and 30 seconds on the wing before firefighters arrived and provided assistance with a ladder to help her down. By the time she returned to the ground, a number of police cars and authorized vehicles had gathered at the scene.
This happened in addition to Delta Air Lines saying a person was able to board a flight in Seattle without a ticket. The passenger was able to bypass security I.D. check at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport by walking under the stanchion of a podium that was unmanned.
