British Man Denies Memory of Incident

When one doesn't want to fly, one shouldn't get on a plane, right? A passenger onboard a Blue 1 flight at Sweden's Stockholm Arlanda Airport in June apparently didn't know that.

While the jet was taxiing to the runway in preparation for takeoff, a man suddenly jumped out of his seat, and screamed he wanted to get off the plane, according to The Sweden Local.

As the cabin crew tried to calm him down, one of the flight attendants asked if he was having a panic attack.

"I'll give you a (expletive) panic attack," he reportedly replied.

He then got away from the cabin crew and attempted to break into the cockpit, but was unsuccessful. The unidentified man then opened an emergency exit door, releasing the inflatable slide while the aircraft was still in motion.

"That's what made the incident so dangerous," said Arlanda police spokesman Åke Granberg. "The plane was moving and the inflatable slide could have been sucked into the engines causing an explosion."

The cabin crew managed to subdue the man while the pilot stopped the aircraft and the man was removed and taken into custody by law enforcement officials.

The British man was charged with endangering an aircraft. Prosecutor Ann Alheim told The Local he could also face up to a year in jail.

"He put the plane's safety in danger and that's significant under the law. His punishment will depend on the psychiatric evaluation but if he's found to be healthy then it could be one year -- but that's just a guess," she said.

The preliminary hearing is scheduled for Friday. Should it be decided the case will proceed the man will undergo psychiatric assessments within the next couple of weeks.

The man told police he didn't remember the incident, said Granberg. "He remembered that he had been at the airport and he remembered how he had got there. But after that the next thing he was aware of was being in custody."

Lab tests showed the man was positive for buprenorphine, a narcotic used in the treatment of substance abuse and addiction, according to the Sweden Metro.

The man is reportedly shocked by what happened, and has no previous convictions.

"He says he can't admit or deny anything as he can't remember what happened," said his lawyer Ghita Hadding Wiberg. "He can't understand his behavior -- he's obviously concerned and frightened."

The man has said that he is willing to compensate the airline for the cost his actions -- a cost estimated to run around $26,000.

FMI: www.arlanda.com, www.blue1.com