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Man accused of jumping off plane onto tarmac at Charlotte airport

A man is accused of opening a galley service door of an American Airlines flight and jumping onto the tarmac Thursday morning at Charlotte Douglas International Airport.

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Tun Lon Sein
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — A man is accused of opening a galley service door of an American Airlines flight and jumping onto the tarmac Thursday morning at Charlotte Douglas International Airport.

American Airlines flight 5242, operated by PSA Airlines, was headed from Charlotte to New Bern when the incident happened.

According to a federal complaint, the plane had pushed back from its gate and was sitting in a holding spot. The doors on the aircraft were closed.

A passenger, identified as Tun Lon Sein, got out of his seat and attempted to open the main aircraft door. A flight attendant stood up to stop Sein and told him to return to his seat. He then tried to bite the flight attendant before he opened the galley service door and jumped onto the tarmac, the complaint said.

The plane returned to the gate after the incident.

Airport employees stopped Sein from running onto the active taxiway.  He was taken into custody and the plane was re-screened while the customers waited in the terminal, according to an American Airlines spokesperson.

The flight arrived in New Bern, approximately 1.5 hours late.

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