Old video linked to a recent incident of opening the emergency exit door of an Indigo airplane - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
January 19, 2023
A video in which people on a plane seem to be holding someone against the floor is being shared on social media. The post claims that the person the passengers are tackling in the video is the MP of Bangalore South, Tejasvi Surya. This post is being shared after news reports about Tejasvi Surya allegedly opening the emergency exit door of an Indigo plane before its takeoff. Let’s know the facts behind this video through this article.
Claim: Video of passengers on a plane tackling Bangalore South MP Tejasvi Surya after he tried to open the emergency exit door of a plane during takeoff.
Fact:  This video is from an incident in 2021 on a Delta Airlines flight. Reportedly, an off-duty flight attendant named Stephon Jamar Duncan allegedly tried to open the flight door mid-air and made terrorist threats. His fellow passengers subdued him. Hence the claim made in the post is FALSE.
We performed a basic keyword search on the internet for fights on a plane, which yielded the video news report published on YouTube by Inside Edition. According to this June 2021 video, a man named Stephon Duncan was restrained by co-passengers when he tried to open the flight door mid-air. Apparently, he had a mental health breakdown. He is an off-duty flight attendant.
A few other news reports on this video can be watched here, here and here.
Bangalore South MP Tejasvi Suya is alleged to have opened the emergency exit door of an Indigo plane last month. According to IndianExpress, Indigo released a statement on this incident but did not name Tejasvi Surya.
To sum up, an old video of a scuffle between passengers of a plane is linked to a recent incident of the opening the emergency exit door of an airplane.