Severe thunderstorms in Atlanta led to the delay of a Delta Air Lines flight to Chicago on Monday, which subsequently led to a man losing his temper on board. The passenger, identified as Thomas Ryan by ABC7 Chicago, took matters into his own hands and opened the emergency exit of the Boeing 737-900ER.

Videos shared on X have identified the highly tense scene, where Ryan is seen yelling, asking to be let off the plane, or he would take himself off. After Ryan opened the emergency exit, it saw the flight needed to return to the gate, and the passenger was removed from the airplane by law enforcement.

168 Passengers Delayed Due To Severe Weather

Credit: Shutterstock

On Monday, the chaotic scene unfolded onboard Delta Air Lines flight 2879, a non-stop service from Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL) to Chicago O’Hare International Airport (ORD). The flight, which was planned to depart at 5:24 pm, faced delays due to the severe weather conditions, and it is believed to have been up to four hours’ delay. Ryan’s temper reached boiling point when passengers were told they could be delayed for another hour.

Onboard the aircraft, 168 passengers were affected by the delay; however, Ryan became impatient and got to the front of the airplane and demanded that the crew let him off the aircraft. When this request was declined, Ryan opened the emergency exit himself. The emergency slide did not deploy. Delta shared the following statement in relation to the event:

Severe Delays And Emergency Exit Incident On DL2879

Credit: Flightradar24

Looking at data from Flightradar24, the Delta flight was set to depart from Atlanta at 5:24 pm on Monday. As already mentioned, severe thunderstorms had affected flight plans. The flight remains on the apron at one of the country’s busiest airports while weather conditions improve.

After the aircraft doors were closed and cross-checked, this is when it appears that Ryan took matters into his own hands and opened the aircraft door. This resulted in the plane needing to return to the gate, so the passenger could be removed from the flight by airport security. Likely, Ryan will now face federal charges, including interfering with the flight crew.

While it would be nearly impossible for a passenger to open the emergency exit mid-flight due to cabin pressurization, as Ryan attempted this on the ground, the cabin was not fully pressurized, and, fortunately, the emergency exit slides did not deploy, as this could cause thousands of dollars worth of damage.

After the aircraft was inspected by the airline’s maintenance team, the flight was eventually able to depart from Atlanta at 12:44 am in the early hours of Tuesday, 28 April, and arrived in Chicago at 2:48 am. The return flight from Chicago to Atlanta was also canceled.

Aircraft Details: N831DN

Credit: Vincenzo Pace | Simple Flying

The aircraft at the center of the incident was N831DN (serial number 31942), a Delta Boeing 737-932ER, which is 11 years old. The plane took its first test flight on December 11, 2014, before being delivered to the SkyTeam carrier on December 22, 2014. According to ch-aviation, the plane is configured to carry a total of 180 passengers, with 20 in Delta First and 160 in Delta Main.

This specific aircraft was involved in another incident back in 2024, when it was the culprit in a ground collision with Spirit Airlines at Cleveland Hopkins International Airport (CLE) on May 12, 2024. The Delta plane was passing the Spirit Airbus A321neo when the left winglet of the 737-900ER hit the back of the Spirit aircraft. This led to the plane being removed from service for three days before returning to scheduled flights on May 15, 2024.

Delta has a total of 163 737-900ERs, and these operate alongside the 77 737-800 aircraft that make up the airline’s 737 family fleet. In total, the airline has close to 1,000 aircraft to serve its domestic and international operations.