Passenger Jumps Out of a Moving Airplane

A passenger on a commercial flight jumped out of the airplane as it prepared to take off here Monday, authorities said.

Troy Rigby, 28, was detained on the tarmac by officers who used a stun gun to subdue him, the Broward County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement.

The Boeing 737 had been delayed for about 30 minutes and, as it began to move toward the runway, Rigby started yelling to get off the plane. He ran to the front of the aircraft and banged on windows and the cockpit door. As passengers and crew tried to restrain him, Rigby bit a passenger, the sheriff’s office said.

When the pilot depressurized the cabin, Rigby opened a door and jumped out of the taxiing plane, the sheriff’s office said.

Deputies found him running toward the terminal. They zapped him with a stun gun after he resisted arrest, the sheriff’s office said. He was taken to the Broward General Medical Center, but it was unclear if he was injured.

Rigby will be charged with criminal mischief, criminal trespass, battery, resisting arrest with violence, and battery on a law enforcement officer, the sheriff’s office said. In addition, Rigby was wanted on an outstanding warrant for marijuana possession.

Continental Flight 408 was headed to Newark, N.J., but had been delayed because of weather conditions in its flight path, an airport spokesman said.