Man dies after jumping from a plane in Phoenix

PHOENIX – A man who jumped out of a taxiing aircraft at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport died Thursday, police said.

The man jumped from the plane and landed on a taxiway, shattering a pane of glass, said Lt. Steve Kent, a spokesman for the Phoenix Police Department. The man was hospitalized and later died.

There are no passenger planes on the taxiway in question, and police said the plane was traveling at an airport crossing rate of about 25 mph.

No passengers were aboard, and the plane was empty of fuel, Kent said.

Authorities released few other details about the incident. It wasn’t immediately clear what route the plane was taking or how long it was in the air, according to police.

The Transportation Security Administration initially said the male jumped from a United Airlines flight bound for Chicago and landed on the taxiway. No arrests were made, and the TSA did not immediately respond to a request for more information.

United Airlines said the aircraft was a Boeing 737-900ER and that two United employees were on board. Both were taken off the plane and the other 119 passengers and four crew members were evaluated at the scene.

A Fox 5 report cited witnesses saying the man was fully clothed, not wearing shoes, with his hands in his pockets when he jumped from the plane. He reportedly got back on the plane and tried to run to a baggage pickup area but was disarmed by security personnel. Police eventually arrested him.

On Tuesday, a toddler was found wandering the tarmac outside a plane at Los Angeles International Airport, with no obvious trace of her family.

On Wednesday, a Japanese woman standing on the tarmac at San Francisco International Airport walked away from a plane without restraint as it began its descent into the airport, according to officials.

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April Ryan, White House correspondent for American Urban Radio Networks, tweets out an amazing tweet about a similar situation as the one in Phoenix

April Ryan, White House correspondent for American Urban Radio Networks, tweets out an amazing tweet about a similar situation as the one in Phoenix

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