Southwest Airlines: Person jumps out of plane while taxiing at Sky Harbor Airport

A person jumped out of a plane while it was taxiing at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport on Saturday morning, according to a Southwest Airlines spokesperson.

According to the Phoenix Fire Department, they were notified that a man had "exited" the airplane about 8:05 a.m. Flight 4236 left Colorado Springs at 6:30 a.m. and landed in Phoenix just before 8:30 a.m., according to the airline's online flight tracker.

As the plane was taxiing to the gate, a customer left the aircraft through a rear galley door, Southwest Airlines spokesperson Dan Landson said.

The flight's captain stopped the plane and notified air traffic control. Local authorities responded to the scene and the plane continued to the gate with remaining customers and crew "shortly after," Landson said.

The Phoenix Fire Department described the person as a 30-year-old man. After leaving the plane, he entered the on-site fire station, walked into a dormitory room and locked himself inside, department spokesman Capt. Todd Keller said.

Firefighters were able to get the man to unlock the door after several minutes. The man was evaluated, treated and taken to the hospital for a "lower extremity injury," Keller said.

The incident did not cause any delays or otherwise delay airport operations, airport spokesperson Julie Rodriguez said.

Phoenix police said the man was booked into jail Saturday night on suspicion of two felony counts of trespassing. His family said he was paranoid someone was trying to kill him and said he may be schizophrenic.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.

Reach the reporter at bfrank@arizonarepublic.com or 602-444-8529. Follow her on Twitter @brieannafrank.

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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Person jumps out of Southwest Airlines plane at Sky Harbor Airport