Off-duty cop tackles airline passenger opening emergency exit Flight to Houston forced to make emergency landing

A passenger was removed from a Southwest Airlines flight to Houston Sunday after an emergency landing. Continue clicking to see other tourists and plane passengers behaving badly while on planes. A passenger was removed from a Southwest Airlines flight to Houston Sunday after an emergency landing. Continue clicking to see other tourists and plane passengers behaving badly while on planes. Image 1 of / 5 Caption Close Off-duty cop tackles airline passenger opening emergency exit 1 / 5 Back to Gallery

An off-duty Cleveland ISD police officer tackled a passenger who tried to open an emergency exit during a flight to Houston on Sunday, forcing the plane to make an emergency landing in Corpus Christi.

Passengers on Southwest Airlines Flight 4519 said a woman was shouting outbursts at Los Angeles International Airport before departure, yelling that she needed her medication and was being mistreated by the government. They also said she was walking backward, and questioned why she was allowed on the flight.

The suspect was ultimately subdued by Pamela Minchew, an off-duty officer from Cleveland ISD in Liberty County, according to Cleveland ISD Police Chief Rex Evans, who said he spoke with Minchew on Sunday evening.

"She had observed the irrational passenger attempting to open the exit door in mid-flight. Fearing for her safety and the safety of everyone on the plane, she took action and was able to restrain the passenger," Evans said. "I can't tell you how proud I am of her. She did a stellar job. The authorities are very pleased with how she handled the incident."

Southwest Airlines confirmed in a statement that Flight 4519 was diverted to Corpus Christi International Airport after flight attendants notified the captain of a "potential threat" in the cabin.

"Following an uneventful landing, local authorities met the aircraft at a gate and removed the disruptive passenger," the airline said.

The flight was delayed more than five hours in Corpus Christi, landing about 11:30 a.m. before resuming the route to Houston about 5 p.m. and arriving at Hobby Airport one hour later.

Terrance Franklin, a passenger on the flight, said the suspect passenger, a young woman, spent the initial hours of the flight standing in the aisle occasionally yelling until some airplane staff met her to mediate. Then he heard a ruckus, looked back down the plane and saw another passenger subduing the woman.

"Everybody was just in shock," he said from the Corpus Christi airport, where passengers had been allowed to leave the plane.

Franklin posted videos of the woman shouting and of her removal on Snapchat.

Adriana Bain, another passenger, said she saw a "scuffle" in the back of the plane.

"Then all I saw was the look of fright in the flight attendant's face, and I knew something was going on," she said.

Passengers who witnessed the incident were held aside for questioning, she said, while others ate pizza in the airport provided by the airplane pilot.

Kristy Gillentine, a former journalist and passenger on the flight, said her fellow passengers gave Minchew a warm welcome when she walked back on board the plane.

"The rest of the passengers cheered when the off-duty officer came back on board, hailing her a hero," Gillentine said. "If she hadn't acted so quickly, things could have gone very differently."

Because the incident happened in the air, it falls under the jurisdiction of the FBI.