Scottish man en route to Las Vegas arrested at N.Y. airport

By Mary Manning

Published Monday, March 30, 2009 | 6:11 p.m.

Updated Monday, March 30, 2009 | 6:29 p.m.

A Scottish man, frustrated after several hours of waiting on a Delta jetliner stuck in New York City on the way to Las Vegas, popped open an emergency hatch and was arrested Sunday night.

Queens District Attorney Richard A. Brown said the 60-year-old man from Glasgow, Robert McDonald, has been charged with recklessly endangering the lives of passengers by opening an emergency exit door while the jetliner was idling on a John F. Kennedy International Airport runway.

McDonald became frustrated after the flight was delayed for several hours because of inclement weather, Brown said in a statement.

Port Authority officers arrested McDonald after the incident. If convicted, he faces up to a year in jail. He was released on his own recognizance and ordered to return to court on May 18.

McDonald was aboard Delta Flight 149 bound for McCarran International Airport at about 7:45 p.m. Sunday as it sat on the JFK Airport tarmac during a layover from Edinburgh, Scotland, to Las Vegas. When he popped open the emergency door, it activated an emergency indicator light in the cockpit.

Members of the flight crew stopped McDonald from fully opening the emergency exit door.

McDonald was traveling with his wife and had arrived at JFK earlier in the day from Edinburgh.

In addition to delaying the flight longer, the plane's emergency chute might need to be replaced.