Man arrested for opening door, walking on wing as jet taxis

A man opened an emergency exit of a United Airlines jet, walked onto a wing as the plane taxied at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport and jumped onto the tarmac early Thursday, police said.

Chicago Police said the passenger on flight 2478 was arrested and taken into custody. Police did not release the man's name because he had not been formally charged as of Thursday afternoon. Local media reported he was a 57-year-old resident of Escondido, California.

Police said the incident happened at about 4:31 a.m. when the jet was approaching the gate at Terminal 1. Police said when the man jumped onto the tarmac, he attempted to guide the aircraft to the gate.

United said members of its crew stopped the passenger outside the plane, which taxied to an airport gate to let other passengers exit.