Pilot Gets Stuck in Plane Bathroom; Causes Panic

Pilot wanted to land; passenger wanted to help

An airplane pilot got stuck in the lavatory and when a passenger tried to help, things got complicated.

The Chautauqua Airlines flight was in a holding pattern above New York's LaGuardia airport when the lavatory door jammed, according to the New York Post. The trapped pilot banged on the door, getting the attention of a passenger and asking him to alert the cockpit crew.

The passenger tried to follow instructions, but his accent put off the crew when he tapped on the cockpit door.

“The captain has disappeared to the back and I have someone with a thick foreign accent trying to access the cockpit right now and I have to deal with the situation,” the co-pilot radioed to air traffic control. “I’m not about to let him in.”

“You guys ought to declare an emergency and just get on the ground,” a controller told the co-pilot.

The captain eventually freed himself and took control of the situation.

“Negative,” the captain responded when asked by air-traffic control of a threat. “The captain, myself, went back to the lavatory and the door latch broke and I had to fight my way out of it with my body to get the door open.”

The FBI and Port Authority police were waiting for the jet when it landed, the Post reported.

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