A recent transpacific All Nippon Airways (ANA) flight was a bit more eventful than most passengers were probably hoping for, after a diversion became necessary…
Tokyo to Houston flight diverts to Seattle after chaos
This incident happened on Saturday, May 24, 2025, and involves ANA flight NH14, scheduled to operate from Tokyo (HND) to Houston (IAH). The 6,677-mile flight was operated by a Boeing 787-9 with the registration code JA934A, and typically takes somewhere around 11-12 hours.
The Pacific crossing was reportedly uneventful, with the excitement starting around nine hours into the flight, after the plane made landfall, flying over Washington and Idaho. At that point, a passenger reportedly jumped up and tried to open the emergency exit, without any sort of warning.
Fortunately there were two military veterans seated nearby, who dragged him away from the exit, and pinned him down, so that he was restrained. The crew and the two men then used zip ties to restrain the guy.
Of course the decision was made to divert, and the plane headed toward the nearest major international airport, which was Seattle Tacoma (SEA). The plane landed there around 45 minutes after the incident, at around 4:20AM.
At that point, police boarded the aircraft, and the man was removed from the plane. Video footage shows this interaction, and the officers acting calmly. While the man involved in the incident hasn’t been identified, airport officials said that the suspect had a “medical episode,” and he was transported to a nearby hospital.
Oddly, during the diversion, another passenger onboard also became unruly and started acting strange, and he was removed as well.
The plane ended up taking off from Seattle at 7:04AM, after a little over 2.5 hours on the ground, to continue its journey to Houston. The plane touched down there at 12:42PM, roughly four hours after its scheduled 8:45AM arrival.
The good news and bad news from this incident
The good news with incidents like this is that there’s limited direct risk from someone trying to open an emergency exit during a flight. That’s because an emergency exit door can’t be opened in the middle of the flight, due to the pressure difference between inside the cabin and outside.
An emergency exit could only realistically be opened at a lower altitude, when the pressurization difference isn’t as big, and at that point the plane is also flying slower, and the risk is lower. Of course it goes without saying that seeing something like this is terrifying, regardless of the direct risk.
The bad news is that we’re seeing people try to open emergency exits with an alarming frequency in recent times. I don’t know if I’d describe these as “copycat” incidents, or what, since it’s not like this is ever successful.
However, it’s sad how the concept of strong passengers having to jump into action and restraint others seems to be on the rise. We’re not worried about terrorism on an airliner in the traditional sense, but there is reason to be concerned with these constant mental health situations.
Bottom line
An ANA Boeing 787 flying from Tokyo to Houston diverted to Seattle, after a man tried to open the emergency exit door at altitude. Fortunately he was quickly restrained and zip tied, and then removed at the diversion point. While the direct risk of this is limited (due to the pressurization difference between the inside and outside of the cabin), it’s still terrifying that this is becoming a pretty common occurrence.
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