exerda

This morning on IAH-IAD, UA 1041, we pushed and seemed to be making a normal taxi, when after a few minutes the captain came on the PA to announce we had "a minor issue" and "needed to return to the gate for a few minutes."

I'd heard the FAs saying something about a pax shortly before that, and they got on the PA and instructed "everyone to please return to your seats."

At the gate, we had to take on more fuel (seemed odd for basically a regular taxi and no WX at IAD, but hey, they go as light as allowed, right?). So they opened the door, and at that point, a lady came charging up to the front of the plane and demanded off.

They asked her to wait a minute, but she went on out after a minute. Purser said, "She's running down the jetbridge!"

From what other pax and the FAs subsequently said, this lady had tried to get up and open 2 separate emergency exits during the taxi. I guess we're lucky she didn't succeed since the slides were presumably armed at that point. Purser and another pax said she'd "tried pushing through the TSA checkpoint and set off alarms, nearly causing a terminal dump." Also said that she "would be getting the help she needed, and wouldn't be flying without the 'proper escort' for her 'condition' next time."

Now, a lot of this is hearsay, but it sounds to me like she was either exceptionally anxious or confused and shouldn't have been traveling on her own. I didn't get a good look at her (I was in 1A and had a lot of my view blocked by the bulkhead), but was surprised the flight wasn't met by cops. I do wonder if some of the on-the-ground delay was offloading her bags and not just "refueling."

We got into IAD just under an hour late, seriously jeopardizing about 100 pax connections including many to Beijing, but apparently, the GAs and FAs did a gob job communicating and getting a few flights held. Bags might even have made it; I've never seen IAD ground staff handle bags that quickly.

.bomb says the delay was "operational difficulties," FWIW.

halls120

Something at IAD has recently changed, and for the better. My last 3 international arrivals, I barely had to wait any time at all before my bag popped up.

mduell

haha, no.

prometa

I'm not surprised she failed to open the emergency exits. Post 9/11, all passengers are psychologically trained to resist and subdue passengers acting out of sorts.

The return to the gate was probably specifically to have the woman escorted by law enforcement, and they didn't want her to leave until law enforcement had arrived--so it wasn't announced by the captain. Probably a mistake on the part of the crew to open the door before law enforcement appeared, but I don't know what the standard procedure is. I'd be thankful she got off at the POD instead of losing her mind completely while in air, forcing a divert.

I'm more surprised she made the flight after rushing the TSA checkpoint. They'd eventually release her, of course, but I'd have thought it would take so long that she would have missed the flight.