(Newser)
– The passenger who allegedly left a Delta Air Lines plane moving through the emergency exit door told his side of the story on Tuesday. Antonio Murdock, 31, said he feared losing control if he did not get off the flight to Atlanta on Monday, CNN reports. While taxiing at New York’s LaGuardia Airport, he and his partner Brianna Greco, 23, and his 60-pound service dog allegedly forced the cabin door open and unfolded the inflatable slide. The Florida couple was arrested and faces criminal charges; Murdock also faces charges of mischief and reckless danger. Murdock and Grego recovered their greyhound from a Brooklyn animal shelter Wednesday morning, the New York Post reports.
“I panicked. I have panic attacks. That’s all. I didn’t hurt anyone,” Murdock told reporters as he left the audience. “I have mental health issues … I asked them three or four times to let me go. They said they would stop the plane and never stop it, and I got to the point where I was just dizzy.” A fellow passenger who had agreed at the door to change seats with the couple so he could accommodate his dog, says Murdock looked “soft” and the couple was nice. When the commotion started with the couple trying to change seats again and allegedly rejecting requests to sit down, he said, “I actually remember thinking,‘ Well, you just asked me to swap rows because you wanted to be from back, and now all of a sudden you decided you wanted to move on. ”(Witnesses heard Murdock say he had PTSD).