Hero from Mansfield helps restrain man on Frontier flight who tried open emergency door

CLEVELAND, Ohio (WOIO) - A Mansfield native is being called a hero after he helped restrain a disruptive passenger on a recent Frontier Airlines flight.

Josh Longood sprang into action when a man police are accusing of trying to open an exit door.

“I knew he was going to do something crazy,” Longood said.

Longood told CBS News he was on a Frontier flight to Chicago from Puerto Rico when a passenger started freaking out saying he wanted to get off the plane.

“I’m always prepared if something happens but hoping nothing happens,” he said.

According to the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office, flight attendants said 51-year-old Juan Reyes tried to open the exit doors mid-flight. Police said when Reyes was told to sit down, he went to the front of the plane and tried to get into the pilot’s cabin.

Police said Reyes was placed in a row with an off-duty flight attendant, but when they got up to go to the bathroom, Reyes tried to attack and choke the person. That’s when Longood jumped in.

“I knew he was going to do something crazy so I restrained him and put him against the window,” Longood said.

Years of jiu jitsu training not only created a champion of the sport, but helped keep people safe.

“And then I safely controlled him so that he couldn’t hurt anyone else,” he said.

With the help of others, Longood was able to get plastic handcuffs on Reyes.

Reyes was arrested once the plane made an emergency landing in Miami. The sheriff’s office said he is facing one misdemeanor for battery and could face more than $40,000 in FAA fines.