A midair scare aboard a Frontier Airlines flight from Puerto Rico to Chicago was cut short when a trained fighter and other passengers subdued a man who allegedly tried to open an emergency exit and force his way into the cockpit.
The disturbance erupted Sunday night on Frontier Flight 3345, which had departed San Juan en route to OHare International Airport, according to the Gateway Pundit. About 45 minutes after takeoff, 51-year-old Juan Gabriel Reyes of Pahokee, Florida, began behaving erratically, as detailed in an arrest affidavit from the Miami-Dade Sheriffs Office and a federal criminal complaint cited by other outlets.
Flight attendants and passengers reportedly saw Reyes attempting to pry open an emergency exit door thousands of feet in the air, claiming he simply wanted to get off the plane. When crew members ordered him to sit down and stop, he allegedly ignored them, rushed toward the front of the aircraft, and drove his shoulder repeatedly into the cockpit door in an apparent effort to break in.
An off-duty flight attendant seated nearby stepped up to help restrain the disruptive passenger, reflecting the kind of everyday courage that often goes unnoticed. But when the crew member briefly left to use the restroom, authorities say Reyes grabbed his bag, seized him by the head, and began choking him, escalating the situation from chaos to outright violence.
That is when another passenger intervened decisively. Josh Longood, a Chicago-area former professional MMA fighter and Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt instructor, immediately moved to restrain Reyes, drawing on skills that underscore the value of personal responsibility and preparedness in a dangerous world.
Longood, who happened to be wearing a Jiu-Jitsu shirt, used flex ties, seatbelts, and his grappling expertise to pin Reyes against the wall and secure him in his seat for the remainder of the flight. Cellphone video posted to social media shows Longood and several passengers holding Reyes down as the pilots diverted the aircraft for an emergency landing at Miami International Airport.
He was just talking and acting crazy, Longood told the Mansfield News Journal. I could tell he wasnt going to calm down, so I just kept an eye on him because there were females and young kids around.
I immediately responded and safely positioned him to where he couldnt hurt anyone, Longood said of the moment the confrontation turned physical. Im just thankful I was seated close to him, so I was able to resolve the situation without anyone getting injured. It was my years of BJJ training that helped me stay calm and handle the situation.
Im confident in my training and abilities to handle real-life situations like these, he added. The flight landed safely in Miami at approximately 11:55 p.m. local time, where Miami-Dade Sheriffs deputies boarded the plane and arrested Reyes on a misdemeanor battery charge, a reminder that even in President Trumps second administration, public safety ultimately depends on both law enforcement and courageous citizens willing to act when it counts.
Login