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An Alaska Airlines flight approaching Portland.

(The Oregonian 2005)

An Alaska Airlines passenger is in custody after he reportedly attempted to open a door of a plane as it approached Portland International Airport for a landing with 137 passengers on board Monday morning.

Alexander Michael Herrera, 23, is expected to be charged with interfering with a flight crew, the FBI said.





Alexander Herrera





Passengers and crew members interviewed by Port of Portland police investigators said the man made "unusual statements" prior to trying to force the door, according to the FBI. The incident happened at an altitude of about 10,000 feet, authorities said.



After a brief struggle, crew members and nearby passengers reportedly restrained Herrera with shoelaces and seat belt extenders. They kept him in his seat until the plane landed, a Port of Portland spokeswoman said.

Herrera, believed to be from Arizona, was seated in row 17 on the Flight 132, originating in Anchorage. Ten minutes before the flight's scheduled landing at PDX, he stood up and tried to open an emergency exit door, said Bobbie Egan, an Alaska Airlines spokeswoman.After a brief struggle, crew members and nearby passengers reportedly restrained Herreraand seat belt extenders. They kept him in his seat until the plane landed,

The door remained sealed and the cabin was not depressurized, Egan said. "All of our emergency exits areequipped with locks that prevent people from opening a door in-flight," she said. "That's important to note."

The plane landed safely at 5:23 a.m. Port of Portland police boarded the plan onnce it had pulled up to the terminal and took the man into custody.

Herrera was booked into the Multnomah County Detention Center and is expected to make his initial court appearance on Tuesday before a federal magistrate in Portland.

