Former MMA fighter Josh Longood (4-1) potentially saved dozens of lives after physically restraining a passenger who attempted to open an emergency door mid-flight on a Frontier Airlines flight from Puerto Rico to Chicago on May 31.
Longood, who was travelling home from his brother’s bachelor party, intervened after suspect Juan Gabriel Reyes, 51, attempted to open the emergency door and assaulted an off-duty airline employee. The plane made an abrupt descent into Miami during the incident. Longood alleged that Reyes was heavily intoxicated at the time of the incident. Reyes is now facing federal charges including interference with the flight crew.
“I knew I had to be the one to step in, and I knew I could do it safely without anybody getting injured. I was kind of ready already. I had my feet in the aisle. I knew he was going to do something crazy, so as soon as he jumped on him, I just controlled him safely, kind of pushed him against the window. He started to flip out on our descent to Miami, so I just kind of sat with him, holding him down and kind of treated him like a little kid that was throwing a tantrum, just held him down and did what I needed to do,” Longood