What seemed like just another trip home turned into a moment of great tension for Josh Longood. The former MMA fighter had to intervene when a passenger began acting aggressively, attacked a flight attendant and tried to open an emergency door during a Frontier Airlines flight.
Longood, 37 years old, reacted immediately and managed to immobilize the man, using the experience acquired in MMA and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. According to what he said, he had to restrain him twice after he freed himself, keeping him under control for about half an hour until the emergency landing in Miami.
The former athlete believes that the passenger could have been under the influence of alcohol and stated that the situation could have been much more serious. Fortunately, no one was injured.
“I have confidence in my training and my abilities to deal with real situations like this”, said Longood, expressing satisfaction that everyone had arrived safely at their destination.
🚨🇺🇸 Frontier Airlines Chaos: A male passenger on Flight 3345 from San Juan, Puerto Rico to Chicago O’Hare allegedly assaulted a flight attendant and tried to open an emergency exit door mid-flight at cruising altitude.
Fellow passenger Josh Longood, a 37-year-old former pro MMA…
— Steven J. Latham (@StevenJLatham1)