Terrifying incident as passenger tries to open plane door mid-flight

One of the crew screamed at him to stop: Flight EZY8233 was disrupted by a dangerous passenger. Photo / Nicolas Economou, Getty Images

Terrified passengers spoke of the event in which a man took leave of his senses and tried to open the emergency door of their airplane mid-flight.

A man in his 30s was forcibly restrained by other passengers as the EasyJet service completed its route from London Gatwick to Pisa Airport in Italy, reported The Sun.

The Airbus A319 was full of holiday-makers at the time, including Richard Conyard, 42.

"I saw this bloke walk up the aisle behind me and head towards the toilet," Conyard told The Sun, describing the passenger's actions.

"He looked a little nervous and had a heavy coat on. He was in the toilet for about a minute.

"When he came out he went towards the emergency exit and grabbed the handle and tried to open the door.

Emergency door: Opening the pessurised aircraft cabin could be fatal for passengers. Photo / Patrik Stollarz, Getty Images

"One of the crew screamed at him to stop and other passengers started shouting and crying. Everyone was understandably very scared."

Conyard was one of several passengers who had to forcibly "bundle him [the passenger] into a seat".

They had to sit either side of him - to "box him in" - until Italian police arrived to escort the man off the plane.

Had the rogue passenger managed to open the door, the sudden decompression and reduction in temperature could have proved fatal to those onboard.

A spokesperson for the airline made a statement following the incident, which happened on Wednesday:

"The captain of Flight EZY8233 from London Gatwick to Pisa requested police to meet the aircraft due to the disruptive behaviour of a passenger on-board during the descent."

Pisa Airport police later confirmed an Italian man in his 30s from Sienna arrested in connection with the incident.